The takeaway
Direxion Daily S&P500® Bull 3X Shares shows a pronounced seasonal pattern over 10 years of data — strongest in July (+8.9%) and softest in February (−3.1%).
Right now
In July, the fund has risen 100% of years, averaging +8.9%, about +6.7 pts better than the S&P 500.
The full picture
Direxion Daily S&P500® Bull 3X Shares's most dependable month has been July, higher in 10 of 10 years; February has been its least reliable, up just 40% of the time.
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Month by month
The fund's clearest edge over the S&P 500 lands in November (+9.0 pts); it has trailed the market most in March (−3.3 pts).
“vs S&P” is Direxion Daily S&P500® Bull 3X Shares’s average for a month minus the S&P 500’s average for that same month — isolating Direxion Daily S&P500® Bull 3X Shares’s own seasonal edge from broad market drift.
Reality check
Over the last 5 years, July has closed higher 100% of the time versus 100% across the last 10 years — the pattern is holding.
Figures are the typical (median) July return and how often it rose — the last 5 years versus the last 10(the heatmap’s default window). This verdict stays anchored to that 10-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. July stands out, higher in all 10 Julys, but it heads a clutch of months that pull the year reliably upward.
Its average (+8.9%) and median (+7.4%) land within a hair of each other — the tell of steady, year-after-year gains rather than one outlier doing the work. It is also the calendar's calmest month, its returns swinging least from year to year (a 6.7% spread), and even its worst July in 10 years lost only 1.2% — the gentlest downside anywhere on its calendar. Crucially, the gain is the fund's own rather than a rising tide's: July has cleared the S&P 500 by +6.7 points above the index. That consistency sets it apart from the field, where the average stock manages July only about 61% of the time.
The strength clusters rather than stands alone — March–August forms a firm stretch that carries much of the year. The weaker half of the year is plainer: February has been the soft spot — the weakest of 3 months that average a loss (−3.1%), and the edge isn't year-round — the fund has trailed the S&P 500 in March, September, and February. Its roughest month on record was a −53.9% March in 2020 — a reminder of how hard even a seasonal name can fall.
July has now closed higher 10 years running. Reassuringly, the tendency has held its shape: the recent five years still track the years behind them.
The takeaway is less about when to buy than what to expect: July aside, the fund's months offer little reliable tilt. With returns that swing hard year to year, the signal is best held loosely.
Short answers on the fund's best month (July), its worst (February), and whether it really trades seasonally.
Yes, to a pronounced degree. Since 2016 its best month (July, +8.9%) has run well ahead of its worst (February, −3.1%) — the heatmap above shows how steady that gap has been year to year.
July has been the strongest, averaging +8.9% and closing higher in all 10 years on record since 2016.
It's the weakest, averaging −3.1% — 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