SOXL is a leveraged ETF targeting three times the daily return of a US semiconductor index of about 30 companies. Its daily target uses derivatives; compounding means multi-day results can differ substantially from three times the index's cumulative return.
History and development
SOXL began on March 11, 2010, as a leveraged ETF targeting three times a semiconductor benchmark's daily performance. Its daily objective is not equivalent to simply owning three units of an unleveraged fund. Compounding makes longer-period returns differ from a straightforward threefold multiple.
References: Direxion: semiconductor ETFs
Comparing charts on this board
Compare SOXL with SMH and the semiconductor index to separate sector direction from three-times daily exposure. Their benchmarks differ, so this is not a test of whether SOXL exactly equals three times SMH's return.
TQQQ adds a leveraged semiconductor-versus-large-growth comparison. During repeated reversals, inspect the underlying indices too, separating direction from daily-reset compounding.
Related charts: SMH · SOX · TQQQ · NASDAQ 100
Official references: Direxion: SOXL