Largest Inverse ETFs for Hedging and Shorting Strategies
ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ (SQQQ) is the largest inverse ETF in the world by assets, offering -3x daily exposure to the Nasdaq-100 Index. It is followed by Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X Shares (SOXS) and ProShares Short S&P500 (SH) — two funds that cover very different corners of the market but share the same goal: profiting when prices fall.
Inverse ETFs — also called short ETFs or bear ETFs — are designed to deliver the opposite daily return of a benchmark index. They achieve this through swap contracts and futures rather than short selling individual stocks, which means they can be held in standard brokerage accounts without margin requirements.
How the daily reset works: Every trading day, derivative positions are recalibrated so the fund targets the inverse of that day’s index movement. A -1x fund aims for the exact opposite return, while -2x and -3x funds magnify the inverse. For example, if the S&P 500 falls 2% in a single session, a -3x fund targeting that index should rise roughly 6% that day. Over longer periods, compounding effects cause returns to deviate from a simple multiple of the index.
Largest inverse ETFs by assets:
- SQQQ — ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ: -3x daily inverse of the Nasdaq-100
- SOXS — Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X Shares: -3x daily inverse of the NYSE Semiconductor Index
- SH — ProShares Short S&P500: -1x daily inverse of the S&P 500, one of the simplest unleveraged inverse ETFs available
- PSQ — ProShares Short QQQ: -1x daily inverse of the Nasdaq-100
- SPXU — ProShares UltraPro Short S&P500: -3x daily inverse of the S&P 500
- SDS — ProShares UltraShort S&P500: -2x daily inverse of the S&P 500
Two providers dominate the space. ProShares, which has offered inverse and leveraged ETFs since 2006, covers broad markets, sectors, fixed income, currencies, and crypto. Direxion operates 127 funds, including sector-specific bear ETFs targeting areas like semiconductors and small caps.
Beyond equity indexes, inverse ETFs also cover fixed income (such as TBT, which provides -2x exposure to long-dated U.S. Treasuries), currencies (like ProShares UltraShort Euro, EUO), and even single stocks. This range of coverage allows for precise, position-level hedging without triggering taxable sales of existing holdings.
Regulated brokerThe table below ranks inverse ETFs by assets under management, with live pricing and fund details including leverage tier, benchmark tracked, and provider.
| Stock | Price | Change % | 52 Week Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| $45.59 | 6.22% | ||
| $33.75 | 1.37% | ||
| $15.83 | 0.19% | ||
| $9.81 | 14.77% | ||
| $39.58 | 4.14% | ||
| $59.37 | 2.72% | ||
| $26.78 | 2.08% | ||
| $4.51 | 4.25% | ||
| $28.23 | 4.11% | ||
| $35.29 | 1.64% | ||
| $28.13 | 3.63% | ||
| $51.22 | 0.89% | ||
| $15.59 | 4.06% | ||
| $37.73 | 2.30% | ||
| $25.58 | 8.02% | ||
| $8.85 | 1.45% | ||
| $19.42 | 1.78% | ||
| $7.10 | 11.81% | ||
| $14.06 | 1.47% | ||
| $22.76 | 1.22% | ||
| $47.67 | 15.10% | ||
| $9.65 | 7.83% | ||
| $44.11 | 1.23% | ||
| $39.93 | 4.43% | ||
| $26.85 | 3.87% | ||
| $25.48 | 4.53% | ||
| $31.11 | 16.62% | ||
| $20.48 | 4.66% | ||
| $12.72 | 8.75% | ||
| $15.28 | 0.26% | ||
| $18.95 | 4.00% | ||
| $21.44 | 0.28% | ||
| $19.01 | 2.36% | ||
| $29.15 | 16.04% | ||
| $17.04 | 0.93% | ||
| $23.16 | 2.93% | ||
| $55.69 | 2.40% | ||
| $20.21 | 12.32% | ||
| $4.60 | 12.75% | ||
| $22.39 | 8.35% | ||
| $39.78 | 2.64% | ||
| $67.60 | 2.39% | ||
| $25.98 | 6.55% | ||
| $35.03 | 23.77% | ||
| $12.31 | 1.20% | ||
| $18.65 | 5.56% | ||
| $11.64 | 2.92% | ||
| $11.71 | 8.13% | ||
| $28.17 | 0.52% | ||
| $19.15 | 8.25% | ||
| $15.55 | 1.39% | ||
| $26.62 | 9.76% | ||
| $19.50 | 1.09% | ||
| $17.07 | 9.59% | ||
| $22.52 | 1.16% | ||
| $28.10 | 1.02% | ||
| $16.11 | 3.30% | ||
| $13.68 | 1.85% | ||
| $19.98 | 6.02% | ||
| $43.02 | 12.90% | ||
| $18.69 | 5.38% | ||
| $6.45 | 0.23% | ||
| $32.60 | 0.46% | ||
| $41.78 | 2.95% | ||
| $13.16 | 0.49% | ||
| $9.05 | 0.93% | ||
| $33.60 | 5.51% | ||
| $15.54 | 9.39% | ||
| $20.88 | 2.34% | ||
| $11.83 | 0.76% | ||
| $26.11 | 0.00% | ||
| $15.53 | 1.77% | ||
| $18.91 | 5.58% | ||
| $11.78 | 6.64% | ||
| $7.58 | 5.31% | ||
| $11.86 | 1.66% | ||
| $41.88 | 0.91% | ||
| $8.29 | 0.60% | ||
| $1.82 | 22.87% | ||
| $3.85 | 12.10% | ||
| $8.37 | 5.42% | ||
| $8.21 | 4.20% | ||
| $5.68 | 13.70% | ||
| $5.20 | 2.44% | ||
| $2.80 | 6.30% | ||
| $5.08 | 14.41% | ||
| $9.24 | 1.35% | ||
| $55.74 | 14.56% | ||
| $50.37 | 9.37% | ||
| $6.14 | 3.85% | ||
| $8.57 | 5.51% | ||
| $14.03 | 3.09% | ||
| $10.28 | 0.39% | ||
| $9.68 | 3.64% | ||
| $7.52 | 4.77% | ||
| $10.87 | 0.53% | ||
| $10.73 | 2.90% |
