It seeks to deliver -1x the daily return of the ICE US Treasury 20+ Year Index, moving in the opposite direction. Because long-term Treasury prices fall when interest rates rise, this inverse ETF aims to profit from that decline.

It is suited to experienced investors who expect interest rates to rise or long-term Treasury prices to fall, or who want to hedge existing bond positions over the short term.

It is an actively managed ETF operated by ProShares.

The fund uses derivatives such as swaps to track -1x the one-day return of the long-term Treasury index, in the opposite direction. Because the objective is set on a daily basis, holding the fund for multiple days can cause compounding effects, leading performance to differ from the exact inverse of the index's cumulative return.

• Provides opposite-direction exposure to declines in long-term Treasuries
• A simple -1x inverse structure with no leverage

Assets under management (AUM) stand at $122.3M, and the expense ratio is 0.95% per year.

Because it is a -1x structure without leverage, its daily price swings tend to be milder than those of 2x and 3x inverse products.

Performance varies widely with the direction of long-term interest rates: the fund tends to rise when rates are climbing and fall when rates are declining. Given its daily reset structure, its performance tends to stand out most clearly in directional markets.

Fund flows react sensitively to monetary policy and the outlook for Treasury supply and demand. When concerns about rising rates intensify, interest tends to grow on hedging and directional-bet demand.

Its strength is that it offers easy opposite-direction exposure to declines in long-term Treasuries, while its drawback is the risk of losses from long-term holding due to the daily reset.

The two products shown in the table, TBT and TTT, also bet against long-term Treasuries but add 2x and 3x leverage respectively, while TMV is likewise -3x with far greater price swings. The TBX product takes opposite-direction exposure to shorter-maturity 7 to 10 year Treasuries, and the SJB product tracks the inverse of high-yield bonds. Investors who want a stronger multiple can look at the leveraged products, while those who prefer milder exposure can choose the simple -1x inverse structure.

Here are the points to review before investing in TBF. Because of the nature of inverse products, the holding period and the interest rate outlook largely determine performance, and an understanding of the derivatives-based structure is also needed, so it is important to check these in advance.

Because of the daily reset structure, long-term holding can produce results different from expectations, and losses widen when rates decline. Since the fund uses derivatives, an understanding of its operating structure is necessary.

It is an inverse product suited to investors who want to respond tactically, over the short term, to a decline in long-term Treasuries and a rise in interest rates. Rather than holding it for the long term, it is preferable to use it for a short period under a clear directional view.