UPRO offers 3x daily S&P 500 returns but risks big losses over time due to daily leverage resets.

The ProShares UltraPro S&P 500 (UPRO) is a leveraged ETF designed to deliver three times the daily return of the S&P 500 by using a mix of stocks, swaps, and futures. It resets its leverage daily, which can cause long-term returns to deviate significantly from a simple 3x multiple, often leading to volatility decay and potential losses during sideways markets. While UPRO has achieved impressive cumulative returns since 2009, it carries high risk with steep drawdowns, making it suitable mainly for short-term traders who understand its mechanics rather than buy-and-hold investors. For long-term wealth building, traditional S&P 500 funds remain safer and more cost-effective.