ETF Evaluator:
ProShares UltraShort Silver ()
Follow This ETF
(as of Aug 26)
Best Performing in Trading--Inverse Commodities Over the Last Year
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Risk
Index
Risk
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ETF Details
ProShares UltraShort Silver Overview
ProShares UltraShort Silver (ZSL) is a passively managed Miscellaneous Trading--Inverse Commodities exchange-traded fund (ETF). ProShares launched the ETF in 2008.
The investment seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to two times the inverse (-2x) of the performance of the Bloomberg Silver SubindexSM for a single day.
The fund seeks to meet its investment objective by investing under normal market conditions in any one of, or combinations of, Financial Instruments (including swap agreements, futures contracts and forward contracts) based on the fund’s benchmark.
About ProShares UltraShort Silver (ZSL)
There are 1 members of the management team with an average tenure of 17.67 years: Management Team (2008). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.
The ETF has 1 primary benchmark: Bloomberg Sub Silver PR USD index with a weighting of -200%. ProShares UltraShort Silver has 11 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 4391.8% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
ProShares UltraShort Silver is part of the Other global asset class and is within the Miscellaneous ETF group. ProShares UltraShort Silver has 0.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is -62.6% There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). ProShares UltraShort Silver has 1309.6% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $64 million in total assets, which is below the $73 million average for the Trading--Inverse Commodities category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
ZSL Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The ProShares UltraShort Silver expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Trading--Inverse Commodities category. ProShares UltraShort Silver has an expense ratio of 1.33%, which is 45% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a F. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. ProShares UltraShort Silver has a portfolio turnover rate of 0%, which indicates that it holds its assets around /years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 0% for the Trading--Inverse Commodities category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, ProShares UltraShort Silver returned 3.9%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Trading--Inverse Commodities category had an average return of -6.2%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.
ProShares UltraShort Silver has a trailing yield of 0.00%, which is equal to the 0.00% category average.
The fund normally distributes its income none and its capital gains annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
ProShares UltraShort Silver Grades
Year to date, the ETF has returned -40.5%, 13.6 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned -87.3% over the past year (grade of F), -64.1% over the past three years (grade of F) and -49.6% per year over the past five years (grade of F) and -38.8% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).
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ZSL Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| ZSL Return (NAV) | 3.9% | 39.2% | -87.3% | -64.1% | -49.6% | -38.8% |
| ZSL Return (Price) | 1.6% | 38.0% | -87.4% | -64.4% | -49.7% | -38.7% |
| NAV +/- Price Return | 2.248% | 1.216% | 0.117% | 0.247% | 0.134% | -0.119% |
| Trading--Inverse Commodities Avg | -6.2% | 12.2% | -43.9% | -26.7% | -24.6% | -18.7% |
| ZSL Grade (NAV) | A | A | F | F | F | F |
| +/- Category (NAV) | 10.1% | 27.1% | -43.3% | -37.4% | -24.9% | -20.1% |
| ZSL Tax-Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
ZSL Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| ZSL Return (NAV) | -40.5% | -87.4% | -41.6% | -6.8% | -27.3% | -3.5% | -74.1% | -27.9% | 17.1% | -15.0% | -42.2% |
| ZSL Return (Price) | -41.4% | -87.3% | -42.4% | -5.5% | -28.1% | -2.0% | -74.4% | -27.8% | 18.1% | -19.0% | -40.0% |
| NAV +/- Price Ret | 0.023% | -0.002% | 0.021% | -0.188% | 0.028% | -0.408% | 0.005% | -0.6% | 6.4% | 26.8% | -5.4% |
| Trading--Inverse Commodities Avg | -26.8% | -28.5% | -13.2% | 15.5% | -24.9% | -32.2% | -22.8% | -10.8% | 13.9% | -7.1% | -25.7% |
| ZSL Grade (NAV) | D | F | F | D | C | B | F | F | C | C | D |
| +/- Category | -13.6% | -58.9% | -28.4% | -22.3% | -2.4% | 28.8% | -51.3% | -17.1% | 3.2% | -7.9% | -16.5% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Beta: | -1.62 |
| R-Squared: | 9% |
| Standard Deviation: | 71.6% |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.61 |
| Category Risk Rating: | High |
| Total Risk Index: | 5.84 |
| Total Risk Rating: | High |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Yield: | 0.0% |
| Total Assets: | $ 65 Mil |
| Share Class Assets: | $ 65 Mil |
| Turnover: | 0.0% |
| Expense Ratio: | 1.33% |
| Index Fund: | Yes |
| Index Tracked: | Bloomberg Sub Silver PR USD |
| Index Weighting: | -200% |
| Leveraged: | Yes |
| Socially Responsible Fund: | No |
| Capital Gains Distribution Frequency: | Annually |
| Income Distribution Frequency: | None |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 1 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 17.7 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 17.7 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Team Management (2008) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/2/25)
| # of Holdings: | 11 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 4391.8% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 0.0% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | -62.6% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | -1147.0% |
| Cash: | 1309.6% |
Purchase Information
| Legal Structure: | Partnership (3C1) |
| Fund Family: | ProShares |
| Phone Number: | 240-497-6400 |
| Website: | www.proshares.com |
| Inception Date: | December 1, 2008 |
Expenses and Fees
| Expense Ratio (%): | 1.33% (Rating: High) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.92% |
