ETF Education Report: PROSHARES SHORT 20+ YEAR TREASURY (TBF)

What this ETF is trying to do

The TBF ETF is an "inverse" ETF. This means it is designed to move in the opposite direction of long-term Treasury bonds (specifically those with 20 or more years left until they mature). When the price of these specific bonds goes down, this ETF is designed to go up.

What the numbers show

It is important to understand the difference between "price return" and "total return." Price return only tracks how much the share price changed. Total return includes both the price change and any cash payments (distributions) made to investors.

Based on the data provided:

• Year-to-Date (YTD): The price return is approximately 11.61%. When you include distributions, the total return is approximately 13.30%.

• One Year: The price return was approximately 12.82%, while the total return was approximately 15.57%.

• Three Years: The price return was approximately 2.71%, while the total return was approximately 14.59%.

To visualize the price change, we can look at an estimated price from roughly one year ago. The price was approximately $23.86, and the current price is $26.92.

Income and distribution explanation

This ETF pays out cash to investors, which is called a distribution. The distribution yield is approximately 2.18%. This number describes the cash payments relative to the current ETF price. Over the last 12 months, there were 4 distributions, which usually happen every quarter.

NAV erosion explanation

"NAV erosion" is a term used to describe when the value of an ETF's underlying assets decreases significantly over time. StockValueFinder uses an "erosion-risk score" to measure this risk. For TBF, the erosion score is 100, and the label states "No price erosion detected." There is no severe erosion-risk flag for this ETF.

Pros

• The ETF has shown positive total returns over the one-year, three-year, and five-year periods.

• It provides regular cash distributions (usually quarterly).

Cons

• Because this is an inverse ETF, it is designed to move opposite to bond prices, which can be complex for new investors.

• The top holdings list is currently empty in the provided data, so we cannot see which specific assets are being used to track the inverse bond movement.

Beginner takeaway

When looking at TBF, remember that price return and total return are different. While the share price has grown, the total return is even higher because it includes the cash distributions paid out to investors. Always remember that a high distribution yield is not the same thing as total return.