ProShares Ultra Russell2000

ProShares Ultra Russell2000 (UWM) is a leveraged ETF that aims to return twice (2x) the daily performance of the Russell 2000 Index of US small-cap stocks, before fees, using stocks, swaps and futures. It resets its leverage every day, so returns over months or years can drift far from 2x the index. Its expense ratio is 0.95%, according to the prospectus filed September 25, 2026, and it lost 43.67% in 2022.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, UWM returned +17.4%, 4th of 6 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +1.0%.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-43.7%); its best was 2021 (+23.9%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 61.6% (Nov 8, 2021 to Oct 27, 2023), recovered by Jun 18, 2026.

As of Aug 31, 2026, most of the fund sat in cash, Treasury bills and money-market holdings (36.55% 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 $4.8M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +6.73%, -6.60%, +1.36%.

UWM tracks 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 3,000 largest US companies, and weights them by market value. As of May 31, 2026, every company in it was worth less than $81 billion. FTSE Russell reviews the members and their weights each June and December.

ProShare Advisors uses a mathematical approach to mix stocks, swaps and futures so that, together, they aim for twice the index's daily move. A swap is a contract with a large financial institution that pays the fund the index's return. If that institution fails to pay, the fund can lose money. As of August 31, 2026, stocks made up about 40% of assets across 1,965 holdings. The largest stock positions were JFrog, Moog, UMB Financial, Glaukos and Brinker International, at about 0.13% to 0.14% each. Roughly 37% was in cash and money market instruments such as repurchase agreements, which are short-term loans backed by government securities.

The fund rebalances every day. After the index rises, it adds exposure, and after a fall it cuts back. Because of this daily reset, returns over longer periods compound away from 2x. The prospectus estimates that if the index fell 20% over a year with 50% volatility, the fund would lose about 50.2%, not 40%. If the index nears a 50% drop within a single day, holders could lose their entire investment.

• UWM 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 0.13% 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 $1,305 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

Its leverage resets every day, so returns over longer periods can stray far from twice the index, and the fund is built for short-term trading rather than holding for years.

UWM doubles the daily moves of US small-cap stocks, which makes losses bigger in exactly the years a retiree may need cash. In the 2022 bear market it fell 49.9% from January 3 to September 26, 2022, and it took about 40 months, until January 21, 2026, to get back to that peak. Its deepest price drop was 61.6%, from November 2021 to October 2023, and it took about 32 months to recover. Its worst quarter, ending March 31, 2020, lost 57.26%. The available price history starts in 2020, so it does not show how the fund did in the 2008 crisis. Income is small: a 0.86% trailing yield as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly, against a 0.95% expense ratio. Anyone forced to sell during a slump could lock in deep losses. Past results don't predict future ones, 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.