Long-Term Returns Estimation of Leveraged Indexes and ETFs

Abstract: Daily leveraged exchange traded funds amplify gains and losses of their underlying benchmark indexes on a daily basis. The result of going long in a daily leveraged ETF for more than one day is less clear. Here, bounds are given for the log-returns of a leveraged ETF when going long for more than just one day. The bounds are quadratic in the daily log-returns of the underlying benchmark index, and they are used to find sufficient conditions for outperformance and underperformance of a leveraged ETF in relation to its underlying benchmark index. Results show that if the underlying benchmark index drops 10+\% over the course of 63 consecutive trading days, and the standard deviation of the benchmark index's daily log-returns is no more than .015, then going long in a -3x leveraged ETF during that period gives a log-return of at least 1.5 times the log-return of a short position in the underlying benchmark index. Results also show promise for a 2x daily leveraged S&P 500 ETF. If the average annual log-return of the S&P 500 index continues to be at least .0658, as it has been in the past, and the standard deviation of daily S&P 500 log-returns is under .0125, then a 2x daily leveraged S&P 500 ETF will perform at least as well as the S&P 500 index in the long-run.