Key Factors
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Leveraged ETFs which have shorted among the 12 months’s winningest sectors have misplaced greater than 80% of their worth.
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Technique (MSTR), previously MicroStrategy, has seen its bubble burst in 2025.
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Gold miners and semiconductors have been among the many 12 months’s largest winners, making -2x variations of them among the many largest losers.
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As of early December, U.S. shares are on tempo to ship a 3rd straight 12 months of double digit good points. By means of Dec. 5, the S&P 500 is up 16.8% 12 months up to now, whereas the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 has gained 22.3%.
Not each fairness has been a winner, although. Not surprisingly, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that go quick or guess in opposition to a selected inventory, sector, or index have fared significantly poorly.
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Listed here are the 5 worst-performing ETFs of 2025 to date.
Picture supply: Getty Photographs.
Direxion Day by day Junior Gold Miners Index Bear 2x Shares ETF
Yr-to-date efficiency: Down 89.2%
Gold costs have had one in every of their greatest calendar years ever and are up round 60%. Gold mining shares have performed even higher, greater than doubling in worth as a gaggle in 2025. Junior gold miners, that are the smaller firms inside that group, have been the leaders.
So you possibly can think about how the Direxion Day by day Junior Gold Miners Index Bear 2x Shares ETF (NYSEMKT: JDST), which not solely shorts these shares however does it with 2x leverage, is doing the worst on the ETF efficiency checklist. It is fallen almost 90% this 12 months.
Direxion Day by day Gold Miners Index Bear 2x Shares ETF
Yr-to-date efficiency: Down 87%
The Direxion Day by day Gold Miners Index Bear 2x Shares ETF (NYSEMKT: DUST) does primarily the identical factor as JDST however with the bigger gold miner shares. Its threat/reward profile seems to be similar to that of the junior miners, with maybe rather less volatility.
Due to the day by day resetting of leveraged positions that comes with many of those merchandise, the price of implementing the technique, together with the inherent volatility, can actually harm returns.
Direxion Day by day Semiconductor Bear 3x Shares ETF
Yr-to-date efficiency: Down 85.8%
The substitute intelligence (AI) growth helped carry loads of tech inventory share costs, however it’s been particularly bullish for chip shares. Given how semiconductors are one of many base-level parts of AI improvement, demand has elevated exponentially.
Due to this fact, a triple-leveraged inverse place on this successful sector, which the Direxion Day by day Semiconductor Bear 3x Shares ETF (NYSEMKT: SOXS) goals for, inevitably delivered abysmal efficiency. Along with large losses, this has been one of the unstable ETFs obtainable at present.
Defiance Day by day Goal 2x Lengthy MSTR ETF
Yr-to-date efficiency: Down 82.8%
Technique, previously MicroStrategy, had been one of many darlings of the cryptocurrency growth. Because it’s primarily simply develop into a Bitcoin holding firm, the Defiance Day by day Goal 2x Lengthy MSTR ETF (NASDAQ: MSTX) has been a leveraged play on its efficiency.
2025 flipped the script on crypto. Consequently, Technique inventory is down greater than 45% 12 months up to now, and this fund has delivered almost double the losses.
T-Rex 2x Lengthy MSTR Day by day Goal ETF
Yr-to-date efficiency: Down 82.7%
The T-Rex 2x Lengthy MSTR Day by day Goal ETF (NYSEMKT: MSTU) is basically a carbon copy of MSTX, simply from a special issuer. MSTU has a barely decrease expense ratio, which has saved shareholders 0.1% in returns 12 months up to now if that is any comfort.
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*Inventory Advisor returns as of December 8, 2025
David Dierking has no place in any of the shares talked about. The Motley Idiot has positions in and recommends Bitcoin. The Motley Idiot has a disclosure coverage.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the creator and don’t essentially replicate these of Nasdaq, Inc.