QLD observed max drawdown: 80.7%
ProShares Ultra QQQ (2x). From its 2007-10-31 peak, QLD fell 80.7% to the 2009-02-28 trough and needed 4.4 years to make a new high (2012-03-31). Computed from 241 months of observed fund history. Raw fund prices begin 2006-06-21; the monthly analysis runs from 2006-06-30 through 2026-06-30.
QLD observed fund drawdown statistics
2007-10-31 peak to 2009-02-28 trough.
New high reached 2012-03-31.
Share of all months spent below a prior high.
Rolling year ending 2008-11-30.
The biggest QLD drawdowns in observed fund history
| Depth | Peak | Trough | Recovered | Peak to trough | Total underwater |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -80.7% | 2007-10-31 | 2009-02-28 | 2012-03-31 | 16 mo | 4.4 years |
| -60.5% | 2021-12-31 | 2022-12-31 | 2024-05-31 | 12 mo | 2.4 years |
| -33.8% | 2018-08-31 | 2018-12-31 | 2019-10-31 | 4 mo | 14 months |
| -30.4% | 2020-01-31 | 2020-03-31 | 2020-05-31 | 2 mo | 4 months |
| -20.9% | 2025-01-31 | 2025-04-30 | 2025-06-30 | 3 mo | 5 months |
Methodology: observed QLD fund prices only, first available from 2006-06-21. Monthly closing-price statistics cover 2006-06-30 through 2026-06-30; no proxy or pre-inception simulation is included in this table. Educational information, not investment advice.
Hypothetical extended / pre-inception QLD history
This separate series combines observed prices with a modeled pre-inception extension from 1970-01-31 through 2026-07-31. The 2026-07-31 endpoint is the legacy current partial-month bucket/month-end label, not evidence that QLD was observed through that future date. It is not observed QLD performance. The API's observed boundary is 2006-06-21; observed monthly statistics run from 2006-06-30 through 2026-06-30.
Assumptions: QLD is modeled as 2x daily QQQ, with a 0.50% annual expense ratio and borrowing at FFR + 0.50% on borrowed exposure. Before FRED rate history begins, the fallback borrowing rate is 2.5% per borrowed turn.
2x daily Nasdaq 100.
Modeled extended statistics
2000-03-31 peak to 2009-02-28 trough.
New high reached 2020-08-31.
Share of all months spent below a prior high.
Rolling year ending 2001-09-30.
For context, SPY (the S&P 500 baseline) had a maximum drawdown of 50.8% over the same kind of monthly-close analysis.
Modeled extended drawdowns
| Depth | Peak | Trough | Recovered | Peak to trough | Total underwater |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -98.5% | 2000-03-31 | 2009-02-28 | 2020-08-31 | 107 mo | 20.4 years |
| -88.8% | 1972-05-31 | 1974-09-30 | 1987-08-31 | 28 mo | 15.3 years |
| -61.8% | 1987-08-31 | 1987-11-30 | 1991-05-31 | 3 mo | 3.8 years |
| -60.9% | 1970-04-30 | 1970-06-30 | 1972-04-30 | 2 mo | 2.0 years |
| -60.5% | 2021-12-31 | 2022-12-31 | 2024-05-31 | 12 mo | 2.4 years |
Monthly closing prices, peak-to-trough on total return where available. The pre-inception segment is a reconstruction, not a live fund record, and actual tracking, financing, taxes, spreads, and volatility drag can differ.
Drawdowns are the reason tactical strategies exist
Buy-and-hold QLD means living through every number on this page. BestFolio tracks published TAA strategies whose whole job is cutting these drawdowns, with out-of-sample track records.