At a glance
YCS charges 0.95% a year. It has $31.0M in assets. Over the past year it returned +14.3% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%); over three years it returned +12.8% a year. At its worst it fell 10.2% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 1 month after the low.
The short version
ProShares UltraShort Yen (YCS) uses derivative contracts to seek twice the inverse (-2x) of the daily performance of a Japanese yen benchmark, so it aims to gain when the yen falls. Its exposure resets daily, so results over longer periods can stray far from -2x, and it is a commodity pool taxed as a partnership. It charges 0.95% a year, pays no distributions and is built for short-term trading.
Price history
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YCS +14.3% 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YCS price data to Oct 27, 2026 | +7.2% | +14.3% | +12.8% | +21.8% | — | +18.0% |
- Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, YCS returned +14.3%.
- Its 5-year annualized return was +21.8%.
- Its worst full calendar year was 2025 (+9.0%); its best was 2024 (+35.4%).
- The deepest fall in its price history was 27.3% (Oct 20, 2022 to Jan 13, 2023), recovered by Aug 16, 2023.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +7.2% |
| 2025 | +9.0% |
| 2024 | +35.4% |
| 2023 | +28.7% |
| 2022 | +29.1% |
| 2021 | +22.4% |
| 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 | Not in the price data, which starts Jun 2, 2020 |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Gained 60.9% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 10.2%, back to its old high 1 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 $31.0M 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
YCS does not hold yen directly. Its sponsor, ProShare Capital Management LLC, uses derivatives: futures contracts, swap agreements, forward contracts and similar contracts whose value comes from an underlying asset or rate. The goal is daily results, before fees and expenses, equal to twice the inverse (-2x) of the daily performance of its yen benchmark. On a day the benchmark falls, the fund aims to rise by twice that percentage. On a day it rises, the fund aims to fall twice as much.
These targets apply to a single day only, measured from one net asset value (NAV) calculation to the next. Over longer periods, daily returns compound. As a result, the fund's return will very likely differ in amount, and possibly in direction, from -2x the benchmark's return. Swings in the benchmark can matter as much as its overall return. The trust's annual report says such funds should be used only by knowledgeable investors, and it suggests holders consider actively monitoring their positions.
YCS is a commodity pool, a fund that trades derivatives under Commodity Futures Trading Commission rules, within ProShares Trust II. It is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, so it lacks some protections that ordinary funds offer. It is taxed as a partnership, so holders receive a Schedule K-1 rather than a 1099.
What it really costs
- YCS 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
It seeks -2x the daily performance of a yen benchmark and resets every day, so multi-year results can stray far from that target, and its annual report says such funds suit only knowledgeable investors who monitor their positions actively.
The price history shown here begins June 2, 2020, so it misses the 2008 crisis and the 2020 COVID crash. From the stock market's January 3, 2022 peak to its October 12, 2022 low, YCS gained 60.9%. Along the way it slid 10.2% that summer and recovered within about a month. Every full calendar year from 2021 to 2025 was positive, and the weakest, 2025, returned 9%. Its deepest drop, 27.3%, ran from October 20, 2022 to January 13, 2023 and took about seven months to recover. That was a hard stretch for anyone who needed cash during it.
Those results depended on the yen weakening, and a reversal would hurt at twice the daily rate. YCS pays no distributions. It charges 0.95% a year plus brokerage and other costs. 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
- Active traders who want a short-term, leveraged bet that the Japanese yen will fall and who can check their positions daily.
- Hedgers offsetting yen exposure for days or weeks who understand how daily -2x compounding changes results over time.
- Experienced investors comfortable with commodity pool rules, including Schedule K-1 tax forms and possible yearly tax on gains even without cashing out.
Look elsewhere if
- Long-term and retirement investors: the daily reset means multi-year returns can differ sharply, even in direction, from -2x the yen's move.
- Income seekers: YCS has paid no distributions, and it charges 0.95% a year plus brokerage and other costs.
- Investors who can't stomach steep drops: it fell 27.3% from October 2022 to January 2023 and took about seven months to recover.
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 YCS a good long-term investment?
YCS is designed for short-term trading, not long-term holding. It seeks -2x the daily performance of its yen benchmark and resets every day. Over months or years, compounding can push results far from -2x, possibly even in the opposite direction. It returned an average of 21.8% a year over the five years to October 27, 2026, a stretch when its bet against the yen worked. Its deepest drop since June 2020 was 27.3%.
Does YCS go up when the yen goes down?
Yes, on a daily basis. YCS seeks daily results, before fees and expenses, equal to twice the inverse of its yen benchmark's daily performance. It uses derivatives such as futures, swap agreements and forward contracts. So on a day the benchmark falls, the fund aims to rise about twice as much. Over longer periods, daily compounding means its return can differ in size, and even in direction, from twice the yen's decline.
Does YCS pay dividends?
No. YCS has no recorded distributions, so any return comes only through its share price. It is a commodity pool taxed as a partnership. Holders receive a Schedule K-1 rather than a 1099, and they may owe tax on their share of the fund's gains each year even if they don't cash out or receive any money. That can make tax filing more complicated than with a typical ETF.
What is the YCS expense ratio?
YCS's expense ratio is 0.95% a year, which is its sponsor fee, according to its quarterly report for the period ending June 30, 2026. As a commodity pool, it also pays brokerage commissions and other costs on top of that fee. These costs come out of the fund's assets rather than being billed to holders. The fund is small, with net assets of about $31.0 million as of June 30, 2026.
Is YCS a hedge against a stock market crash?
Not reliably. YCS is a bet against the yen, not against stocks. It did gain 60.9% from the stock market's January 3, 2022 peak to its October 12, 2022 low. Its one-year beta, a measure of how it moves with the stock market, was -0.26 as of October 27, 2026, so it tended to move slightly opposite to stocks. That relationship can change. The price history shown here starts June 2, 2020, so it doesn't show the 2008 or 2020 crashes.