The takeaway
Direxion Daily S&P 500® High Beta Bull 3X Shares shows a pronounced seasonal pattern over 7 years of data — strongest in May (+14.6%) and softest in September (−5.3%).
Right now
In July, the fund has risen 83% of years, averaging +13.4%, about +11.3 pts better than the S&P 500.
The full picture
Direxion Daily S&P 500® High Beta Bull 3X Shares's most dependable month has been May, higher in 5 of 6 years; September has been its least reliable, up just 33% of the time.
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
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| 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Month by month
The fund's clearest edge over the S&P 500 lands in November (+17.7 pts); it has trailed the market most in March (−15.2 pts).
“vs S&P” is Direxion Daily S&P 500® High Beta Bull 3X Shares’s average for a month minus the S&P 500’s average for that same month — isolating Direxion Daily S&P 500® High Beta Bull 3X Shares’s own seasonal edge from broad market drift.
Reality check
Over the last 5 years, May has closed higher 80% of the time versus 83% across the last 7 years — the pattern is weakening.
Figures are the typical (median) May return and how often it rose — the last 5 years versus the last 7(the heatmap’s default window). This verdict stays anchored to that 7-year window even if you zoom the chart, so it never disagrees with the badges above.
In plain English
Dependability is the through-line here. May stands out, higher in 5 of 6 Mays, but it heads a clutch of months that pull the year reliably upward.
The headline flatters a touch — its +14.6% average sits well above the +9.0% a typical year delivers, the work of a few big Mays. It is among its calmest months, too, its returns swinging least from year to year (a 16.5% spread), and even its worst May in 7 years lost only 7.6% — the gentlest downside anywhere on its calendar. Crucially, the gain is the fund's own rather than a rising tide's: May has cleared the S&P 500 by +13.9 points above the index. That consistency sets it apart from the field, where the average stock manages May only about 55% of the time.
A few other months pull their weight: July, August, and October have also closed higher more often than not. At the other end of the calendar, September has been the soft spot — the weakest of 2 months that average a loss (−5.3%), and the edge isn't year-round — the fund has trailed the S&P 500 in March and September. Its roughest month on record was a −76.6% March in 2020 — a reminder of how hard even a seasonal name can fall.
The pattern has softened of late, May's last five years slipping below its longer-run record.
The takeaway is less about when to buy than what to expect: May aside, the fund's months offer little reliable tilt. With a short 7-year record and returns that swing hard year to year, the signal is best held loosely.
Short answers on the fund's best month (May), its worst (September), and whether it really trades seasonally.
Yes, to a pronounced degree. Since 2019 its best month (May, +14.6%) has run well ahead of its worst (September, −5.3%) — the heatmap above shows how steady that gap has been year to year.
May has been the strongest, averaging +14.6% and closing higher in 5 of 6 years since 2019.
It's the weakest, averaging −5.3% — historically a soft spot, though it still varies from year to year.
Explore
These names have the strongest July track records on record — a starting point for comparison.
Before you trade