A 3x Inverse Financial ETF Could Lose 84% Over 5 Years — Even If the Sector Rises

FAZ has fallen ~17% over the past month and ~11% over the past week, reflecting the financial sector’s recent rally. The Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) targets a 300% inverse return of the Russell 1000 Financial Services Index on a daily basis, meaning a 1% drop in the financial sector translates to a targeted 3% gain for FAZ holders. A 35% drop in the financial sector could theoretically push FAZ up over 100% in a compressed timeframe. FAZ is up ~15% year-to-date in 2026, but its longer-term performance is sobering: over five years, FAZ has declined ~84%, and over ten years, it has lost nearly all of its value. Daily compounding decay in a generally upward-trending financial sector systematically erodes FAZ’s value.