The group gains on average, which is rare.
These ETFs decay by design, so the question is not whether they close lower in September, but whether they fall less than they usually do.
We compared 13 leveraged and inverse ETFs against their own history. For each one we took its average September return and compared it against its average return across all months. 11 of the 13 beat their own average by a median of 3.52 points.
DUST averages +7.32% in September versus −1.26% in a typical month. In fact, September is the best performing month for DUST.
LABD and ZSL also have better than average months in September.
On the other hand, UVXY averages −10.41% in September against −8.18% in a typical month and has closed lower in each of its last two Septembers.
DUST and LABD rank among the 6 strongest September performers, while UVXY, SCO and BOIL sit among the 6 weakest.
| Ticker | September Avg | Avg Month | Gap | September Rank | Green/Red Frequency | Septembers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DUST | +7.32% | −1.26% | +8.58 | 1 of 12 | ▲53.3% / ▼46.7% | 15 |
| LABD | +4.63% | −2.23% | +6.86 | 3 of 12 | ▲54.5% / ▼45.5% | 11 |
| ZSL | +4.30% | −2.12% | +6.41 | 2 of 12 | ▲47.1% / ▼52.9% | 17 |
| FAZ | +0.85% | −4.62% | +5.47 | 1 of 12 | ▲47.1% / ▼52.9% | 17 |
| SQQQ | +0.11% | −4.59% | +4.70 | 1 of 12 | ▲43.8% / ▼56.2% | 16 |
| TZA | +0.08% | −3.88% | +3.96 | 2 of 12 | ▲47.1% / ▼52.9% | 17 |
| GLL | +2.33% | −1.18% | +3.52 | 2 of 12 | ▲64.7% / ▼35.3% | 17 |
| SPXU | −0.05% | −3.46% | +3.41 | 1 of 12 | ▲35.3% / ▼64.7% | 17 |
| SOXS | −3.95% | −6.90% | +2.95 | 2 of 12 | ▲50.0% / ▼50.0% | 16 |
| EDZ | +0.38% | −1.95% | +2.33 | 5 of 12 | ▲41.2% / ▼58.8% | 17 |
| BOIL | −0.44% | −2.64% | +2.20 | 6 of 12 | ▲35.7% / ▼64.3% | 14 |
| SCO | −1.36% | −0.79% | −0.57 | 8 of 12 | ▲47.1% / ▼52.9% | 17 |
| UVXY | −10.41% | −8.18% | −2.24 | 8 of 12 | ▲28.6% / ▼71.4% | 14 |
September is not the worst month of the year for any of the 13 ETFs.
Measured against its own average month, September is stronger for 11 of the 13 ETFs we tested, by a median of 3.52 points. Each ETF is measured only against its own history.
The gap between individual ETFs is large. DUST runs 8.58 points above its own average in September. UVXY runs 2.24 points below.
TradeIntel’s Seasonality tool breaks down the historical month-by-month return pattern for stocks, ETFs, and the broad market.
Open the Seasonality Tool
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