ProShares on Monday rolled out what it says are the first and only daily 3x leveraged and inverse crude oil exchange-traded funds. Both the ProShares UltraPro 3x Crude Oil ETF (OILU) and ProShares UltraPro 3x Short Crude Oil ETF (OILD) are benchmarked to the Bloomberg WTI Crude Oil Subindex.
OILU is used by investors seeking magnified gains when oil trends upward. Of course, results would also be magnified in the opposite direction if the benchmark goes south. OILD is intended to hedge against declines in the benchmark by seeking to profit when oil prices drop.
Both funds are intended to be short-term bets on the price of oil, and both carry an expense ratio of 0.95 percent.
ProShares, which bills itself as the world’s largest sponsor of leveraged and inverse ETFs, is also the only sponsor in the U.S. to offer 2x and -2x crude oil ETFs—the ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil (UCO) and ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil (SCO) funds, respectively.
Like their 3x cousins, both funds track the Bloomberg WTI Crude Oil Subindex and sport expense ratios of 0.95%.