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TQQQ charges a slightly lower expense ratio, but carries much more risk than SSO.
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TQQQ has delivered slightly stronger one-year performance, while experiencing a significantly deeper five-year decline.
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TQQQ leans heavily towards technology, while SSO is more diversified across multiple market sectors.
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He ProShares UltraPro QQQ ETF (NASDAQ:TQQQ) differs from ProShares Ultra S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: SSO) by offering higher leverage, greater technology exposure, and noticeably higher volatility.
Both funds aim for daily leveraged returns, with SSO targeting 2x the S&P 500 and TQQQ targeting 3x the Nasdaq-100. This showdown highlights two aggressive ETFs for short-term traders or tactical investors seeking greater index exposure, but their risk profiles and sector tilts diverge sharply.
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Metric
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SSO
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TQQQ
|
|
Editor
|
ProShares
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ProShares
|
|
Expense ratio
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0.87%
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0.82%
|
|
1 year declaration (as of December 16, 2025))
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16.36%
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16.60%
|
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Dividend yield
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0.69%
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0.72%
|
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Beta (5 years monthly)
|
2.02
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3.69
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AUM
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7.3 billion dollars
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$30.9 billion
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Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500. The 1-year return represents the total return over the past 12 months.
TQQQ offers advantages for both fee-conscious and income-driven investors, with a lower expense ratio and higher yield. However, both factors primarily affect long-term investors, and these leveraged ETFs in particular are better suited as short-term investments.
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Metric
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SSO
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TQQQ
|
|
Maximum reduction (5 years)
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-46.73%
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-81.65%
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$1,000 growth in 5 years
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$2,585
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$2,459
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TQQQ’s 3x leverage has driven stronger one-year gains, but its five-year maximum drawdown is nearly double that of SSO, highlighting much greater downside risk. Over the past five years, both ETFs have roughly doubled from their initial $1,000, but SSO has done so with less severe declines.
TQQQ seeks to deliver 3x the daily returns of the Nasdaq-100, making it highly concentrated in technology (55% of the fund’s total assets), with additional weight in communication services (17%) and consumer cyclicals (13%).
The fund owns 101 shares, with its largest holdings being NVIDIA, microsoftand Apple. Its daily leverage reset and focus on technology means wild swings and the potential for quick losses if the technology underperforms.
SSO, by contrast, offers double daily exposure to the S&P 500, spreading risk across a broader universe of 503 positions. Its top holdings mirror those of TQQQ, but SSO’s sector mix is more diversified, with technology making up 35% of the fund, financials 13% and consumer cyclicals 11%. Both funds use a daily reset of leverage, which can erode returns if held long term and volatility increases.
For more guidance on investing in ETFs, check out the full guide at this link.
SSO and TQQQ are high risk, high reward ETFs. They are designed for above-average returns, but SOO has performed the best.
TQQQ is the higher risk of the two funds, with its 3x daily leverage and a strong tilt toward the tech industry. This ETF has the potential to substantially outperform SSO, but in recent years, that risk has not paid off. TQQQ’s one- and five-year total returns are nearly identical to SSO’s, even though this ETF experiences much more severe volatility, with a higher beta and a maximum drawdown nearly twice that of SSO.
Now, this doesn’t mean that SSO isn’t a risky investment. All leveraged ETFs will carry greater risk, especially if held for the long term. But SSO still tracks the S&P 500 and only aims to earn double the index’s daily returns, resulting in greater diversification and smoother price movements.
If you are considering investing in any of these ETFs, prepare for substantial ups and downs. But between the two funds, TQQQ has struggled with volatility in recent years with few benefits.
Expense ratio: The annual fee, as a percentage of assets, charged by a fund to cover operating costs.
Leverage: The use of borrowed money or derivatives to amplify investment returns, increasing both potential gains and losses.
ETF (Exchange Traded Fund): A fund traded on stock exchanges that contains a basket of assets, such as stocks or bonds.
Reduction: The percentage decrease from a fund’s peak value to its lowest point over a specific period.
Beta: A measure of the volatility of an investment compared to the broader market, usually the S&P 500.
Dividend yield: Annual dividends paid by a fund or stock, expressed as a percentage of its current price.
AUM (Assets under management): The total market value of the assets that a fund manages on behalf of investors.
Sector: A group of companies or assets that operate in the same segment of the economy, such as technology or finance.
Daily Leverage Reset: The process by which leveraged ETFs adjust their exposure each day to maintain a set leverage ratio.
Nasdaq-100: An index of 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
S&P 500: An index that tracks the 500 largest publicly traded companies in the United States.
Consumption cyclicals: Companies whose performance tends to follow economic cycles, such as retailers, auto manufacturers, and travel companies.
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Katie Brockman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions and recommends Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
TQQQ and SSO Aim for Above-Average Returns, But There’s a Clear Winner for Investors originally published by The Motley Fool
