At a glance
SVXY charges 0.95% a year. It has $221.5M in assets. Over the past year it returned +22.9% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%); over three years it returned +16.7% a year. At its worst it fell 61.2% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 27.9% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 37 months and 7 months after the lows.
The short version
ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (SVXY) is a commodity pool that uses VIX futures to seek, for a single day, one-half the inverse (-0.5x) of the daily move in the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index. It tends to rise when stock-market fear fades and fall hard when fear spikes. It charges a 0.95% sponsor fee, sends investors a K-1 tax form, and has lost as much as 95.2% from a peak.
Price history
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SVXY +22.9% over the year to Oct 27, 2026, total return with distributions reinvested.
How it has behaved
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | Since start | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SVXY price data to Oct 27, 2026 | +13.1% | +22.9% | +16.7% | +15.5% | -2.0% | +12.6% |
- Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, SVXY returned +22.9%.
- Its 5-year annualized return was +15.5% and its 10-year -2.0%.
- In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 61.2% and regained its old high 37 months after the low.
- Its worst full calendar year was 2018 (-91.8%); its best was 2017 (+181.8%).
- The deepest fall in its price history was 95.2% (Jan 11, 2018 to Mar 18, 2020), not yet recovered.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +13.1% |
| 2025 | +10.6% |
| 2024 | -3.2% |
| 2023 | +76.2% |
| 2022 | -4.7% |
| 2021 | +48.5% |
| 2020 | -36.5% |
| 2019 | +54.2% |
| 2018 | -91.8% |
| 2017 | +181.8% |
| 2016 | +80.3% |
| 2015 | -17.5% |
| 2014 | -9.3% |
| 2013 | +106.2% |
| 2012 | +150.4% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 55.3% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 61.2%, back to its old high 37 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 23.5% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 27.9%, back to its old high 7 months after the low |
What's inside
The fund holds futures contracts and the cash and Treasury bills backing them, not the commodity itself; its net assets were $221.5M as of Jun 30, 2026 (per its 10-Q). As a commodity pool it files 10-Q and 10-K reports instead of N-PORT holdings reports, so there is no holdings list.
How it works
SVXY does not own stocks. It is one of two "Geared VIX Funds" in ProShares Trust II, whose sponsor is ProShare Capital Management LLC. Its benchmark is the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index. That index tracks futures contracts on the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), a gauge of how much movement traders expect in the S&P 500 over the coming month. The fund takes positions in VIX futures and can also use other derivatives, such as swaps and forward contracts. Cash and Treasury bills back those positions.
The goal is -0.5x the index's return for one day only, measured from one net asset value (NAV) calculation to the next. The fund resets that exposure every day. Over weeks or months, the daily returns compound, so the result can differ in size, and even in direction, from -0.5x the index's return over that period. ProShares says the index's volatility can matter as much as its return, and that holders should consider actively monitoring their position.
VIX futures expire, so the fund keeps replacing expiring contracts with later ones. The price gap between them adds to or takes away from returns. Because the fund is short, it tends to gain when later contracts cost more and lose when that reverses, which often happens in sudden sell-offs. As a commodity pool, it is not a 1940 Act investment company, so it lacks some of the protections that come with one.
What it really costs
- SVXY charges 0.95% a year.
Structure and tax notes
- Resets its inverse exposure every day. Over periods longer than a day, compounding means returns can differ sharply from -2× the index — usually worse in choppy markets. Built for short-term trading, not buy-and-hold.
- A commodity pool: it holds futures contracts (and the cash and Treasury bills backing them), not the commodity itself, and it is not a 1940 Act investment company, so it lacks some fund-specific investor protections. It is taxed as a partnership: investors get a Schedule K-1 rather than a 1099 and owe tax on their share of its gains each year, even without selling. Expiring contracts must be rolled into later ones, and the price gap between them adds to or takes from returns, so over time it can drift well away from the spot price of what it tracks. Besides the sponsor's fee, it pays brokerage commissions and other costs.
In a retirement portfolio
ProShares says SVXY seeks results for a single day only and should be used only by knowledgeable investors who monitor their positions.
SVXY adds risk rather than spreading it. Its one-year beta was 1.74, meaning it swung more than the broad stock market. In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 61.2% in about a month and took 37 months to recover, until April 2023. In the 2022 bear market it dropped 27.9% and took 7 months to recover. Its worst calendar year was 2018, at -91.8%. As of October 27, 2026, it was still about 95% below its January 2018 peak. Anyone who had to sell shares in a bad year could have locked in losses that deep.
It has never made a distribution, it charges a 0.95% sponsor fee plus trading costs, and its K-1 tax form adds paperwork. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.
Who it may suit — and who should look elsewhere
May suit
- Experienced traders making a short-term bet that stock-market volatility will stay calm or fall, who check their position every day.
- Investors who understand VIX futures, the -0.5x daily reset and roll effects, and can take losses like the 61.2% drop in early 2020.
- Traders comfortable with a Schedule K-1 and with owing tax on their share of the fund's gains each year, even without selling.
Look elsewhere if
- Retirees and buy-and-hold investors: SVXY lost 91.8% in 2018 and was still about 95% below its January 2018 peak as of October 27, 2026.
- Anyone looking for income: the fund has made no distributions, yet it charges a 0.95% sponsor fee plus brokerage and other costs.
- Investors who want simple 1099 tax forms or 1940 Act fund protections. This commodity pool issues K-1s and is not a registered investment company.
Close alternatives
Matched by leveraged/inverse funds on the same index (the index could not be identified from the name).
No close alternatives found.
Questions investors ask
Is SVXY good for retirement?
SVXY is not built for retirement portfolios. ProShares says it seeks results for a single day only and should be used only by knowledgeable investors who monitor their positions. Its history shows why. It lost 91.8% in 2018 and fell 61.2% in the 2020 COVID crash. As of October 27, 2026, it was still about 95% below its January 2018 peak. It also pays no distributions, so it gives retirees no income.
What does SVXY track?
SVXY seeks, for a single day, one-half the inverse (-0.5x) of the daily performance of the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index. That index follows futures on the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), a measure of expected swings in the S&P 500. So if the index rises 10% in a day, the fund aims to fall about 5%, before fees. Over longer periods, daily compounding can make results differ sharply from -0.5x.
Does SVXY pay dividends?
No. The fund has made no distributions. Tax still applies, though. SVXY is a commodity pool taxed as a partnership, so investors get a Schedule K-1 instead of a 1099. They owe tax each year on their share of the fund's gains, even if they never sell shares or receive any cash. That makes SVXY more complicated at tax time than an ordinary stock ETF.
What's the difference between SVXY and VIXY?
They make opposite bets on the same index. Both are ProShares Trust II funds tied to the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index and listed on the Cboe BZX Exchange. VIXY, the ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF, aims to match the index both for a single day and over time, so it tends to rise when fear spikes. SVXY aims for -0.5x the index's daily move, so it tends to gain when volatility expectations fall.
What are SVXY's long-term returns?
Its results have swung widely. Based on price as of October 27, 2026, SVXY returned 22.9% over one year, 15.5% a year over five years, and -2% a year over ten years, a cumulative loss of 18% over that decade. Its calendar years ranged from a 181.8% gain in 2017 to a 91.8% loss in 2018. Past results don't predict future returns, especially for a fund that resets daily.