UPRO observed max drawdown: 62.7%
ProShares UltraPro S&P 500 (3x). From its 2021-12-31 peak, UPRO fell 62.7% to the 2022-09-30 trough and needed 2.5 years to make a new high (2024-06-30). Computed from 205 months of observed fund history. Raw fund prices begin 2009-06-25; the monthly analysis runs from 2009-06-30 through 2026-06-30.
UPRO observed fund drawdown statistics
2021-12-31 peak to 2022-09-30 trough.
New high reached 2024-06-30.
Share of all months spent below a prior high.
Rolling year ending 2022-12-31.
The biggest UPRO drawdowns in observed fund history
| Depth | Peak | Trough | Recovered | Peak to trough | Total underwater |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -62.7% | 2021-12-31 | 2022-09-30 | 2024-06-30 | 9 mo | 2.5 years |
| -60.4% | 2019-12-31 | 2020-03-31 | 2020-12-31 | 3 mo | 12 months |
| -47.0% | 2011-04-30 | 2011-09-30 | 2012-09-30 | 5 mo | 17 months |
| -39.1% | 2018-09-30 | 2018-12-31 | 2019-10-31 | 3 mo | 13 months |
| -36.7% | 2010-04-30 | 2010-06-30 | 2010-12-31 | 2 mo | 8 months |
Methodology: observed UPRO fund prices only, first available from 2009-06-25. Monthly closing-price statistics cover 2009-06-30 through 2026-06-30; no proxy or pre-inception simulation is included in this table. Educational information, not investment advice.
Hypothetical extended / pre-inception UPRO 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 UPRO was observed through that future date. It is not observed UPRO performance. The API's observed boundary is 2009-06-25; observed monthly statistics run from 2009-06-30 through 2026-06-30.
Assumptions: UPRO is modeled as 3x daily SPY, with a 0.91% 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.
3x daily S&P 500, the levered half of HFEA-style portfolios.
Modeled extended statistics
1999-12-31 peak to 2009-02-28 trough.
New high reached 2019-10-31.
Share of all months spent below a prior high.
Rolling year ending 2009-02-28.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -97.6% | 1999-12-31 | 2009-02-28 | 2019-10-31 | 110 mo | 19.8 years |
| -87.2% | 1972-12-31 | 1974-09-30 | 1995-03-31 | 21 mo | 22.3 years |
| -62.7% | 2021-12-31 | 2022-09-30 | 2024-06-30 | 9 mo | 2.5 years |
| -60.4% | 2019-12-31 | 2020-03-31 | 2020-12-31 | 3 mo | 12 months |
| -47.5% | 1970-02-28 | 1970-06-30 | 1970-12-31 | 4 mo | 10 months |
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 UPRO 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.