Why I Shorted $TZA, the Inverse Small Cap ETF

A few days ago I sold short $TZA, which is the Direxion Daily Small Cap Bear 3x ETF.  This is the inverse of $TNA, which is designed to mimic 300% of an index of small cap stocks, pretty much equivalent to the $IWM.

If the $IWM goes up, $TZA does down three times as much on a daily basis.

Over the long term, that relationship doesn't work.  So far this year, $IWM is up $1.62%, $TNA is up 2.2%, but $TZA is down 10%.  Which is why I am shorting it.  Over the long haul, the short is likely to work out.  Not to say that it can't spike if the underlying $IWM drops suddenly.  But all investing has some risk.

I call this swimming downstream. More on that later.

This is the full listing of the positions in my account at today's close, with the opening price when I shorted them. I'll discuss each of them over time.

	Close	Initial Short	Gain (Loss)
NUGT	10.88	10.47	(0.41)
BIS	29.75	29.75	-
TZA	9.93	9.90	(0.03)
VIXM	54.23	54.60	0.37
RUSS	34.18	30.40	(3.78)
CORN	22.67	22.68	0.01
FAZ	11.50	11.45	(0.05)
UVXY	39.70	40.68	0.98