4 More Leveraged ETFs Your Broker Forgot to Mention (BOIL, SDP, GASX)

Despite all the scrutiny on leveraged ETFs, some manage to fly under the radar. For every leveraged fund that is as well known as the Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares FAZ, there is another that most investors do not even know exists. Anonymity aside, the allure of leveraged ETFs is obvious. Few other financial instruments offer ordinary investors the chance to capture double-digit gains in just one or two trading days. However, many investors are seduced by those gains and fail to read the fine print: leveraged ETFs are short-term trading vehicles, not buy-and-hold investments. For those with discipline and a sense of adventure, the following forgotten leveraged ETFs have the potential to be quite rewarding in the current market environment. ProShares Ultra DJ-UBS Natural Gas BOIL Aided by a bullish demand outlook and some cooperative weather forecasts, natural gas futures have been moving higher lately. After touching support at $15 earlier this month, the U.S. Natural Gas Fund UNG has rallied to over $18.60. UNG itself often moves like a leveraged ETF (only a slight exaggeration), but those who want really big moves should consider the ProShares Ultra DJ-UBS Natural Gas. In the past seven weeks, BOIL has had days where it has gained 9 percent, 6 percent, 10.5 percent and 27.1 percent. ProShares UltraShort Utilities SDP Many investors know of the inverse funds for sectors such as energy, financial services and technology, but many would also be surprised to learn there's a leveraged bearish play on utilities stocks. Thank goodness there is because the Utilities Select Sector SPDR XLU is showing signs of weakness. The knock on the ProShares UltraShort Utilities is the weak average daily trade volume of just 3,200 shares. Note that the index SDP offers daily inverse returns on is the index tracked by the iShares Dow Jones U.S. Utilities Sector Index Fund IDU, not XLU. That means SDP's returns should be measured against the iShares offering, not XLU. Direxion Daily Healthcare Bear 3X Shares SICK The Direxion Daily Healthcare Bear 3X Shares clearly has a nifty ticker, but this ETF's time to shine could arrive as soon as Thursday. That is when the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to finally render a decision on Obamacare. Should that ruling adversely impact health care stocks and ETFs, SICK could see a brief surge in popularity. As it is, the fund only trades about 400 shares per day, according to Yahoo Finance data. SICK has a bullish equivalent in the form of the Direxion Daily Healthcare Bull 3X Shares CURE. Both follow the same index as the Health Care Select Sector SPDR XLV. Direxion Daily Natural Gas Related Bear 3x ETF GASX It might seem odd to have one bullish natural gas play on this list and then follow up it with a bearish play. However, BOIL is a play on natural gas futures while the Direxion Daily Natural Gas Related Bear 3x ETF is a bearish play on natural gas equities. Natural gas equities have lagged the returns offered by futures. In the past month, the First Trust ISE Revere Natural Gas ETF FCG has fallen 5.8 percent while UNG is up 2.6 percent. GASX tracks the same index as FCG and the former has surged 7.3 percent since May 29. Its bullish equivalent is the Direxion Daily Natural Gas Related Bull 3x ETF GASL. For more on leveraged ETFs, click here.