At a glance
YCL charges 0.95% a year. It has $31.2M in assets. Over the past year it returned −10.7% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%); over three years it returned −10.0% a year. At its worst it fell 41.9% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and is still below its earlier high.
The short version
ProShares Ultra Yen (YCL) is a leveraged commodity pool. It uses derivatives to seek twice the daily performance of a Japanese yen benchmark, and it is aimed at traders who want a magnified one-day bet on the yen. Its exposure resets daily, so results over longer periods can stray far from 2x, and it lost money in every calendar year from 2021 through 2025. It charges 0.95% a year, pays no distributions and issues a Schedule K-1 for taxes.
Price history
The interactive chart needs JavaScript.
YCL -10.7% 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YCL price data to Oct 27, 2026 | -4.9% | -10.7% | -10.0% | -17.9% | — | -15.9% |
- Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, YCL returned -10.7%.
- Its 5-year annualized return was -17.9%.
- Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-26.9%); its best was 2025 (-6.3%).
- The deepest fall in its price history was 71.8% (Jan 5, 2021 to Jul 28, 2026), not yet recovered.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -4.9% |
| 2025 | -6.3% |
| 2024 | -26.0% |
| 2023 | -20.5% |
| 2022 | -26.9% |
| 2021 | -20.9% |
| 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 | Not in the price data, which starts Jun 2, 2020 |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 40.2% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 41.9%, not recovered by the end of the data |
What's inside
The fund holds futures contracts and the cash and Treasury bills backing them, not the commodity itself; its net assets were $31.2M 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
YCL is a leveraged fund in ProShares Trust II, a Delaware statutory trust sponsored by ProShare Capital Management LLC. It seeks daily results, before fees and expenses, of two times (2x) the daily performance of its yen benchmark. It does not invest directly in the currency. Instead it uses derivatives such as futures, swaps (contracts where a dealer pays the return of an asset) and forward contracts (deals to exchange currency at a set price later), backed by cash and Treasury bills.
The 2x target covers a single day, from one net asset value (NAV) calculation to the next. Exposure resets daily, so returns over longer periods compound. They will very likely differ in amount, and possibly direction, from 2x the benchmark's return. The annual report says the benchmark's volatility, meaning how much it swings, may matter at least as much as its return. Choppy markets usually hurt. Expiring contracts must also be rolled into later ones, which can add to or subtract from returns.
YCL is a commodity pool, a fund that trades futures and similar contracts. It is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, so it lacks some protections most ETFs carry. It is taxed as a partnership: holders get a Schedule K-1 and owe tax on their share of gains each year, even without cashing out.
What it really costs
- YCL charges 0.95% a year.
Structure and tax notes
- Resets its 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
YCL seeks 2x its yen benchmark's move for a single day only, and its annual report says funds like it suit only knowledgeable investors who monitor their positions.
YCL adds little a long-term portfolio can rely on. The available price history starts June 2, 2020, so it misses the 2008 crisis and the 2020 COVID crash. While stocks fell from January 3 to October 12, 2022, YCL lost 40.2%, so it offered no cushion. Its worst calendar year was 2022, a 26.9% loss, and it lost money every year from 2021 through 2025. From January 5, 2021, to July 28, 2026, it fell 71.8%, and it had not recovered as of October 27, 2026. Anyone needing cash in a bad year could face deep losses.
It has no record of distributions, so it provides no income. The 0.95% annual fee, plus brokerage commissions and other costs, adds drag, and K-1 tax forms make filing more complicated. Past results don't predict the future, and a retirement plan needs to weigh the whole portfolio, not one fund.
Who it may suit — and who should look elsewhere
May suit
- Experienced traders who want a magnified one-day position on the Japanese yen and will monitor it actively, as the trust's annual report advises.
- Investors who understand how daily 2x resets and volatility can make multi-day returns differ in amount, and even direction, from twice the yen's move.
- Traders comfortable paying a 0.95% annual fee and holding a commodity pool that lacks some investor protections of funds registered under the 1940 Act.
Look elsewhere if
- Long-term or retirement investors: YCL lost money every calendar year from 2021 through 2025 and fell 71.8% from January 2021 to July 2026.
- Investors wanting a hedge against stock downturns: during the 2022 bear market, from January 3 to October 12, YCL lost 40.2%.
- Income seekers or anyone wanting simple taxes: YCL has no recorded distributions and issues a Schedule K-1 instead of a Form 1099.
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 YCL a good long-term investment?
It isn't built for long holding periods. YCL seeks twice the daily performance of its yen benchmark for a single day only. The trust's annual report says funds like it suit only knowledgeable investors who understand the risks. YCL lost money in every calendar year from 2021 through 2025. As of October 27, 2026, it had lost an average of 17.9% a year over five years, or 63% in total. Past results don't predict future ones.
Does YCL pay dividends?
No. YCL has no recorded distributions, so it produces no income for holders, and any return comes only from changes in its share price. Because the fund is taxed as a partnership, though, holders can still owe tax each year on their share of its gains. Those gains are reported on a Schedule K-1, even though holders receive no cash payments.
Does YCL hold actual Japanese yen?
No. YCL does not invest directly in the currency. It uses derivatives such as futures, swap agreements and forward contracts, backed by cash and Treasury bills, to seek twice its yen benchmark's daily move. It is a commodity pool, not a fund registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, so it lacks some protections most ETFs carry. Rolling expiring contracts into later ones can also make its results drift from the yen's actual exchange-rate moves.
What is YCL's expense ratio?
YCL's expense ratio was 0.95% for the period ending June 30, 2026. An expense ratio is the yearly cost of running a fund, shown as a share of its assets. YCL's figure matches the annual fee paid to its sponsor, ProShare Capital Management LLC. The fund also pays brokerage commissions and other costs on top of that fee. YCL is small, with about $31.2 million in net assets as of June 30, 2026.
What's the difference between YCL and ProShares UltraShort Yen?
They make opposite daily bets. YCL seeks two times (2x) the daily performance of its yen benchmark. ProShares UltraShort Yen, a sister fund in ProShares Trust II, seeks two times the inverse (-2x), so it aims to rise on days the yen falls. Both reset daily, so over periods longer than a day neither is likely to deliver exactly 2x or -2x. The trust says such geared funds suit only knowledgeable investors.