4 Leveraged Gold ETFs

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UGL, DGP, GLL and DZZ are the four leveraged gold ETFs that trade in the U.S. The first two, ProShares Ultra Gold (UGL) and DB Gold Double Long ETN (DGP), seek twice the daily move of gold. The second two, ProShares UltraShort Gold (GLL) and DB Gold Double Short ETN (DZZ), seek twice the inverse of gold’s daily move. All four get their exposure through gold futures or a gold futures index, not physical bullion and not mining stocks. All four reset their leverage every trading day, which makes them short-term trading tools rather than ways to hold gold.

No 3x gold ETF is currently listed in the U.S. The two 3x products that existed were delisted in 2020.

How a 2x daily gold fund actually behaves

A conventional gold ETF aims to track the gold price one for one. A leveraged gold ETF uses derivatives, and in some cases borrowed money, to multiply that exposure. These four products multiply the daily return only. At the end of each trading day the fund rebalances so that the next day starts again at exactly 2x (or -2x) exposure.

That reset is what separates a 2x gold ETF from holding gold on 2:1 margin. Over one day, the math is simple: if gold futures rise 1%, a 2x long fund should rise about 2% before fees, and a 2x short fund should fall about 2%. Over longer periods, each day’s result compounds on the prior day’s ending value, so the path gold takes matters as much as where it ends.

Hypothetical example 1: a choppy market. Assume gold starts at 100, rises 5% on day one and falls 5% on day two. Fees and financing costs are ignored.

• Gold: 100 to 105 to 99.75, a loss of 0.25%
• 2x long fund: 100 to 110 to 99, a loss of 1%
• 2x short fund: 100 to 90 to 94.5, a loss of 5.5%

Gold is almost flat, yet both leveraged products lose money, and the short fund loses more than twenty times what gold lost. This erosion in back-and-forth markets is often called volatility decay. The more gold swings without a clear trend, the larger it grows.

Hypothetical example 2: a steady trend. Assume gold rises 2% on each of five consecutive days, again before costs.

• Gold: up about 10.4% (1.02 to the fifth power)
• 2x long fund: up about 21.7% (1.04 to the fifth power)

In a smooth uptrend, compounding works in the holder’s favor, and the long fund returns more than twice gold’s gain. A 2x short fund held through the same stretch would lose about 41% (0.96 to the fifth power), somewhat less than twice gold’s gain, because each day’s loss is taken on a shrinking base.

Two practical consequences follow. First, a position held longer than a day needs active monitoring, because its effective exposure relative to the original investment drifts every day. Second, the multiple is fixed: UGL is always 2x daily and GLL always -2x. A trader who wants less exposure uses a smaller position size or combines the fund with cash, rather than switching products.

Commodity pools vs. exchange-traded notes

The four products split into two very different legal structures, and that difference affects risk.

Commodity pool (UGL, GLL). Investor money is pooled and used to hold futures positions in gold. The fund owns those positions, and its value comes from them. The main risks are market risk, futures-related costs and the leverage itself.

Exchange-traded note (DGP, DZZ). An ETN is an unsecured debt obligation. Deutsche Bank promises to pay a return linked to an index, and the note trades on an exchange like a stock. ETNs resemble bonds in that they are the issuer’s debt, but they make no periodic interest payments. Because there is no portfolio of futures standing behind the note, the holder depends on the issuer’s ability to pay. If the bank’s credit deteriorates, the note can lose value even if gold moves the right way.

The two pairs also follow different benchmarks. The ProShares funds target 2x and -2x the daily performance of the Bloomberg Gold Subindex. The DB notes reference the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index-Optimum Yield Gold, an index that selects which gold futures contract to hold based on roll yield rather than simply rolling into the next contract month. Since both indexes are built on futures, neither tracks the spot price of an ounce of gold exactly.

2x long: ProShares Ultra Gold (UGL)

• Issuer: ProShares
• Inception: Dec. 1, 2008
• Structure: Commodity pool
• Benchmark: Bloomberg Gold Subindex
• Target: 2x the daily performance, before fees and expenses
• Expense ratio: 0.95% (October 2025 fund data)

UGL is the most heavily traded of the four and had the largest asset base in October 2025 fund data, which generally means tighter bid-ask spreads and easier entry and exit. It is designed for bullish, short-term positions on gold. ProShares states that the fund resets daily and should be monitored daily, and that significant losses are possible, particularly when gold is volatile.

2x long: DB Gold Double Long ETN (DGP)

• Issuer: Deutsche Bank
• Inception: Feb. 27, 2008
• Structure: Exchange-traded note
• Benchmark: Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index-Optimum Yield Gold
• Target: 2x the daily performance
• Expense ratio: 0.75% (October 2025 fund data)

DGP offers the same directional bet as UGL at a lower listed expense ratio, but the lower fee does not make it cheaper to trade. Its average daily volume is a tiny fraction of UGL’s, so the spread between bid and ask prices can cost more than the fee difference saves, especially on larger orders or fast markets. On top of that, a holder takes on Deutsche Bank credit risk, and the note’s dedicated website is no longer operational, which makes current documentation harder to find.

2x short: ProShares UltraShort Gold (GLL)

• Issuer: ProShares
• Inception: Dec. 1, 2008
• Structure: Commodity pool
• Benchmark: Bloomberg Gold Subindex
• Target: -2x the daily performance, before fees and expenses
• Expense ratio: 0.95% (October 2025 fund data)

GLL uses futures to hold a leveraged short position in gold. It gains when gold falls and loses roughly twice gold’s daily gain when gold rises. Like UGL, it compounds daily, so holding it through a choppy or rising gold market can produce losses far larger than the move in gold suggests. It trades much more actively than DZZ, although its asset base is considerably smaller than UGL’s.

Inverse leveraged funds add a layer of difficulty on top of ordinary leverage: the trader must be right about direction and timing, since a sustained gold rally works against the position every day it is held.

2x short: DB Gold Double Short ETN (DZZ)

• Issuer: Deutsche Bank
• Inception: Feb. 27, 2008
• Structure: Exchange-traded note
• Benchmark: Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index-Optimum Yield Gold
• Target: -2x the daily performance
• Expense ratio: 0.75% (October 2025 fund data)

DZZ is the bearish counterpart to DGP. It carries the same issuer credit risk and the same documentation problem. It is also the smallest of the four by a wide margin: October 2025 data showed about $1.3 million in assets alongside very low trading volume. A product that small and that thinly traded can be hard to buy or sell at a fair price, and small products face a higher chance of being closed or delisted. Of the two short options, it carries more practical risk than GLL.

What happened to 3x gold ETFs

Triple-leveraged gold products did exist. The VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN (UGLD) and VelocityShares 3x Inverse Gold ETN (DGLD) were exchange-traded notes offering 3x and -3x daily exposure to gold. Both were delisted, with their last trading day on July 2, 2020. Since then, no 3x leveraged ETF or ETN on the gold commodity itself has traded in the U.S., so 2x is the highest multiple available on the metal.

Leveraged products on gold mining stocks are a separate category. They track baskets of miners’ shares, which are equities with their own earnings, costs and company risks, not the price of gold. Because miners’ shares can move by much more than the metal on a given day, a leveraged miners fund can jump far more than gold itself.

Likewise, many popular gold funds are not leveraged at all. Physically backed gold trusts aim to track the gold price one for one, minus fees.

Who these products fit

These four products suit traders who want to express a short-term view on gold, often over a single day or a few days, and who can watch the position closely. They do not fit an investor looking for an inflation hedge or a long-term store of value, which are the reasons most people own gold in the first place. For that goal, an unleveraged gold fund or bullion avoids daily reset effects entirely.

FAQs

The Bottom Line

These four funds fit traders taking a short-term view on gold who can monitor positions daily. Daily resets make returns depend on gold's path, so holding through choppy markets can erode value. UGL and GLL trade more actively than the thinly traded Deutsche Bank notes. Investors seeking an inflation hedge or a long-term store of value are better served by an unleveraged gold fund or bullion.