ProShares UltraPro QQQ

TQQQ

Market cap $30.8B

TQQQ delivers higher leverage than QLD and comes with notably greater risk and drawdowns. TQQQ offers a higher dividend yield and much larger assets under management than QLD.

ProShares UltraPro QQQ ETF provides a 3x leveraged approach to the Nasdaq-100 Index. While TQQQ may produce excess returns during bull markets, the results during declines can be disastrous for investors. It's important to understand the concept of volatility erosion, since TQQQ's returns may not always achieve its 3x daily goal.

After a strong 2025 with a 29% return in my main account, I'm shifting from stock picking to a Nasdaq-100-focused ETFs strategy in 2026. I will keep holding core stocks. QQQM remains my largest holding (~40% portfolio), favored for cost efficiency and broad Nasdaq-100 exposure; I will continue DCA into it. I plan to add selective exposure to 3x leveraged TQQQ on new capital deployments, presenting twelve backtests on QQQ DCA and dip-buying strategies.

TQQQ charges a slightly lower expense ratio, but it carries far more risk than SSO. TQQQ has delivered a marginally stronger one-year return, while also experiencing a significantly deeper five-year drawdown.

TQQQ charges a slightly higher expense ratio but offers a notably higher dividend yield than SOXL. SOXL is more volatile, with a much deeper five-year drawdown and higher beta versus TQQQ.

The ProShares UltraPro QQQ ETF uses leverage to deliver three times the NASDAQ-100's daily return. The fund's high leverage is a virtue in times when expected returns are high, but today, NASDAQ-100 stocks trade at nosebleed multiples. Data from Invesco indicates that the NASDAQ-100 trades at 43 times earnings. That's among the steepest multiples in the index's history.

Recently the SEC halted its review of highly levered ETFs in a signal they may be attempting to curb this burgeoning asset class.

Leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs), such as ProShares UltraPro QQQ (TQQQ) and ProShares Ultra S&P 500 (SSO) are tempting investment options, but are they the right choice for long-term buy-and-hold investors? Here's what retail investors need to know about these popular leveraged ETFs.

The overwhelming majority of single-stock ETFs and leveraged or inverse strategies are owned, not by institutional investors, but by retail investors. Individuals are pouring billions into increasingly complex products on bullish beliefs, and now volatility is testing these strategies.

Gunjan Banerji, WSJ lead writer, joins 'Power Lunch' to discuss the state of retail stock trading.