SteveL Veteran   Posts: 189 Joined: 10/11/2012 Location: Boulder, CO  User Profile | John, My understanding and experience with 2x and 3x ETFs are that they are simply handled as a 1x ETF. That is, there is no "scaling" done by the broker. When I purchase 100 shares at $50/sh, I get 100 shares for a total transaction amount of $5000+commission. There is no margin consideration in an IRA. The 2x/3x ETF will go up and down faster than the 1x ETF, but that's not the broker's concern, since they don't have any risk in this non-margin transaction. And I have to say, that has been my assumption as well in my margin account. But I have not looked for this, so I can't say for sure that it didn't happen. I'll be on the lookout for it next time I enter a 2x/3x ETF trade in my margin account. | |
