ProShares UltraPro Russell2000

ProShares UltraPro Russell2000 (URTY) aims to return three times the daily move of the Russell 2000 Index of US small-company stocks, before fees. It gets that leverage from stocks combined with swaps and futures. It resets its leverage every day, so returns over months or years can differ sharply from three times the index. It charges 0.95% a year, and it lost 62.77% in 2022.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, URTY returned +18.8%, 3rd of 6 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was -7.7%.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-62.8%); its best was 2021 (+28.5%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 82.7% (Nov 8, 2021 to Apr 8, 2025), not yet recovered.

As of Aug 31, 2026, most of the fund sat in cash, Treasury bills and money-market holdings (31.32% of net assets), with its exposure coming from 8 swap and futures positions rather than from owning the stocks outright.

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $35.8M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +9.48%, -10.07%, +1.63%.

The fund follows the Russell 2000 Index, which FTSE Russell builds and maintains. The index takes the 2,000 smallest companies in the Russell 3000, an index of the largest 3,000 US companies. It weights each company by market capitalization, meaning the total value of its shares. As of May 31, 2026, every company in the index was worth less than $81 billion. The index's members and weights are reviewed each June and December.

ProShare Advisors uses a mathematical model to choose the mix of positions it expects to deliver three times the index's daily return. The fund owns stocks directly and adds derivatives, which are contracts whose value comes from another asset. These are mainly total return swaps, where a large bank agrees to pay the fund the index's return, plus futures. As of August 31, 2026, stocks made up about 40% of net assets across 1,965 holdings. The largest single stock, JFrog, was only 0.14%. Spare cash sits in Treasury bills and repurchase agreements, which are short-term loans backed by government securities.

Each day the fund rebalances to bring its exposure back to three times its assets. After the index rises, it adds exposure. After the index falls, it cuts exposure. Over longer periods this daily reset compounds, and in choppy markets it usually drags returns below three times the index. If the index nears a 33% loss within a single day, holders could lose their entire investment. The fund also depends on its swap counterparties paying what they owe.

• URTY charges 0.95% a year, versus an average of 0.8% for the similar funds below.
• Of that, 0.75% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• The fee includes a 0.18% waiver from the adviser, which may end.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $97 in the first year and $1,359 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It targets three times the Russell 2000's return for a single day, and it has suffered losses deep and long enough to wreck a long-term plan.

URTY lost 62.77% in 2022, its worst calendar year. From January 3 to September 26, 2022, it fell 67.6%. In the quarter ending March 31, 2020, during the COVID crash, it lost 76.96%. It launched in 2010, so it has no 2008 record. Its deepest drop was 82.7%, from November 8, 2021 to April 8, 2025, and it had not recovered as of October 27, 2026. Anyone who had to sell shares or draw cash in a year like 2022 would have locked in severe losses. Income is small: the yield was 0.93% as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly. Costs are high. In the SEC's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost $1,359 over 10 years. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by leveraged/inverse funds on the same index (russell 2000), same direction.