Short Selling Ultra ETFs

I like to short sell Ultra ETFs that are in downtrends.  After several years of observation, I have come to the conclusion that leveraged ETFs tend to erode, or decay in value over time.

You can perform an experiment yourself.   Make a list of all of the Ultra ETFs that you know of.  Then, find out what they traded for on their first day of trading.  Next, see what they are worth today.  You should find that about 90% of all these ETFs are worth much less than when they were first launched.

This fact, along with standard trend following principles, have allowed me to profit from shorting Ultra ETFs.  

Here are three funds that are in unmistakable downtrends and that are short-sell candidates for me:



The ETF above is the Ultra VIX ETF.   To the immense frustration of bottom pickers, UVXY has lost over 97% since it was launched.  And just because it has already dropped 97% does not mean that it cannot drop another 97%.




Next, the ETF below is an Ultra Silver ETF:



Near a new 52 week low and sporting a bearish gap down on Friday,  USLV  looks very weak to me.   




Finally, if you're like me and have noticed that the US Bond bull market may be ending, then this Ultra ETF is an ideal short candidate: