ProShares Ultra Gold (UGL) 10-K2023 FY Annual report

PROSHARES TRUST II

Table of Contents

Part I.

Item 1. Business.

Summary

ProShares Trust II (the “Trust”) is a Delaware statutory trust formed on October 9, 2007 and is currently organized into separate series (each, a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”). As of December 31, 2023, the following sixteen series of the Trust have commenced investment operations: (i) ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF and ProShares VIX Mid-Term Futures ETF (each, a “Matching VIX Fund” and collectively, the “Matching VIX Funds”); (ii) ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF and ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (each, a “Geared VIX Fund” and collectively, the “Geared VIX Funds”); and (iii) ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil, ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Natural Gas, ProShares UltraShort Gold, ProShares UltraShort Silver, ProShares UltraShort Euro, ProShares UltraShort Yen, ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil, ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas, ProShares Ultra Gold, ProShares Ultra Silver, ProShares Ultra Euro and ProShares Ultra Yen (each, a “Leveraged Fund” and collectively, the “Leveraged Funds”); Each of the Funds listed above issues common units of beneficial interest (“Shares”), which represent units of fractional undivided beneficial interest in and ownership of only that Fund. The Shares of each Fund, other than the Matching VIX Funds and the Geared VIX Funds, are listed on the NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”). The Matching VIX Funds and the Geared VIX Funds are listed on the Cboe BZX Exchange (“Cboe BZX”). The Leveraged Funds and the Geared VIX Funds, are collectively referred to as the “Geared Funds”. The Geared VIX Funds and the Matching VIX Funds are collectively referred to as the “VIX Funds”.

On March 11, 2022, ProShares Capital Management LLC announced that it planned to close and liquidate ProShares UltraShort Australian Dollar ETF (ticker symbol: CROC) and ProShares Short Euro ETF (ticker symbol: EUFX). The last day the liquidated funds accepted creation orders was on May 2, 2022. Trading in each liquidated fund was suspended prior to market open on May 3, 2022. Proceeds of the liquidation were sent to shareholders on May 12, 2022. From May 3, 2022 through May 12, 2022, shares of the liquidated funds did not trade on the NYSE Arca nor was there a secondary market for the shares. Any shareholders that remained in a liquidated fund on May 12, 2022 automatically had their shares redeemed for cash at the current net asset value on that day.

The Trust had no operations prior to November 24, 2008, other than matters relating to its organization, the registration of each series under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the sale and issuance to ProShare Capital Management LLC (the “Sponsor”) of fourteen Shares at an aggregate purchase price of $350 in each of the following Funds: ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil, ProShares UltraShort Gold, ProShares UltraShort Silver, ProShares UltraShort Euro, ProShares UltraShort Yen, ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil, ProShares Ultra Gold, ProShares Ultra Silver, ProShares Ultra Euro and ProShares Ultra Yen.

The Sponsor also serves as the Trust’s commodity pool operator. Wilmington Trust Company serves as the Trustee of the Trust (the “Trustee”). The Funds are commodity pools, as defined under the Commodity Exchange Act (the “CEA”), and the applicable regulations of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) and are operated by the Sponsor, a commodity pool operator registered with the CFTC. The Trust is not an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

Groups of Funds are collectively referred to in this Annual Report on Form 10-K in several different ways. References to “Short Fund,” “UltraShort Funds,” or “Ultra Funds” refer to the different Funds based upon their investment objectives, but without distinguishing among the Funds’ benchmarks. References to “Commodity Index Funds,” “Commodity Funds” and “Currency Funds” refer to the different Funds according to their general benchmark categories without distinguishing among the Funds’ investment objectives or Fund-specific benchmarks. References to “VIX Funds” refer to the different Funds based upon their investment objective and their general benchmark categories.

As described in each Fund’s prospectus, each of the Funds intends to invest in “Financial Instruments” (Financial Instruments are instruments whose value is derived from the value of an underlying asset, rate or benchmark including futures contracts, swap agreements, forward contracts and other instruments) as a substitute for investing directly in commodities, currencies, or spot volatility products in order to gain exposure to the VIX Index, natural gas, crude oil, precious metals, or currencies, as applicable. Financial Instruments also are used to produce economically “inverse”, “inverse leveraged” or “leveraged” investment results for the Geared Funds.

The “Short” Fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to one-half the inverse (-0.5x) of the daily performance of its corresponding benchmark. Each “UltraShort” Fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to two times the inverse (-2x) of the daily performance of its corresponding benchmark. Each “Ultra” Fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that

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correspond to either one and one-half times (1.5x) or two times (2x) the daily performance of its corresponding benchmark. Each Matching VIX Fund seeks investment results, before fees and expenses, both for a single day and over time, that match (1x) the performance of its corresponding benchmark. Daily performance is measured from the calculation of each Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) to the Fund’s next NAV calculation.

Each Geared Fund seeks investment results for a single day only, not for any other period. This is different from most exchange-traded funds and means that the return of such Fund for a period longer than a single trading day will be the result of each day’s returns compounded over the period, which will very likely differ in amount and possibly even direction from -0.5x, -2x, 1.5x, or 2x, of the return of the benchmark to which such Fund is benchmarked for that period. Volatility of the benchmark may be at least as important to a Geared Fund’s return for the period as the return of the benchmark. Geared Funds that use leverage, are riskier than similarly benchmarked exchange-traded funds that do not use leverage. Accordingly, these Funds may not be suitable for all investors and should be used only by knowledgeable investors who understand the potential consequences of seeking daily leveraged, inverse or inverse leveraged investment results. Shareholders who invest in the Geared Funds should consider actively monitoring and/or periodically rebalancing their investments.

Each Matching VIX Fund seeks investment results, before fees and expenses, that match the performance of the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index (the “Short-Term VIX Index”) or the S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures Index (the “Mid-Term VIX Index”) (each a “VIX Futures Index”). Each Geared VIX Fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to a multiple or the inverse of the daily performance of the Short-Term VIX Index. Each VIX Fund intends to obtain exposure to its benchmark by taking positions in futures contracts (“VIX futures contracts”) based on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (“Cboe”) Volatility Index (the “VIX”).

ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil, ProShares Ultra Gold, ProShares Ultra Silver, ProShares UltraShort Gold, ProShares UltraShort Silver, ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Natural Gas, ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil, and ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas are benchmarked to indexes designed to track the performance of commodity futures contracts, as applicable. The daily performance of these Indexes and the corresponding Funds will likely be very different in amount and possibly even direction from the daily performance of the price of the related physical commodities.

Each Geared Fund continuously offers and redeems its Shares in blocks of 50,000 Shares and each Matching VIX Fund continuously offers and redeems its Shares in blocks of 25,000 Shares (each such block a “Creation Unit”). Only Authorized Participants may purchase and redeem Shares from a Fund and then only in Creation Units. An Authorized Participant is an entity that has entered into an Authorized Participant Agreement with one or more of the Funds. Shares of the Funds are offered to Authorized Participants in Creation Units at each Fund’s respective NAV. Authorized Participants may then offer to the public, from time to time, Shares from any Creation Unit they create at a per-Share market price that varies depending on, among other factors, the trading price of the Shares of each Fund on its applicable listing exchange, the NAV and the supply of and demand for the Shares at the time of the offer. Shares from the same Creation Unit may be offered at different times and may have different offering prices based upon the above factors. The form of Authorized Participant Agreement and related Authorized Participant Handbook set forth the terms and conditions under which an Authorized Participant may purchase or redeem a Creation Unit. Authorized Participants do not receive from any Fund, the Sponsor, or any of their affiliates, any underwriting fees or compensation in connection with their sale of Shares to the public.

Forward and Reverse Splits*

On May 11, 2021, the Trust announced a 1-for-10 reverse split of the shares of beneficial interest of ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (ticker symbol: UVXY), a 1-for-4 reverse split of the shares of beneficial interest of ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil (ticker symbol: SCO), a 1-for-4 reverse split of the shares of beneficial interest of ProShares UltraShort Silver (ticker symbol: ZSL) and a 1-for-4 reverse split of the shares of beneficial interest of ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (ticker symbol: VIXY). The reverse splits were effective prior to market open on May 26, 2021, when the funds began trading at their post-split price. The reverse splits were applied retroactively for all periods presented, reducing the number of shares outstanding and resulted in a proportionate increase in the price per share and the per share information of the 4 funds. Therefore, the reverse splits did not change the aggregate net asset value of a shareholder’s investment at the time of the reverse splits.

On December 22, 2021, the Trust announced a 1-for-5 reverse split of the shares of beneficial interest of ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Natural Gas ETF (ticker symbol: KOLD). The reverse split was effective prior to market open on January 14, 2022, when the fund began trading at its post-split price. The reverse split was applied retroactively for all periods presented, reducing the number of shares outstanding and resulted in a proportionate increase in the price per share and the per share information of the fund. Therefore, the reverse split did not change the aggregate net asset value of a shareholder’s investment at the time of the reverse split.

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On May 11, 2022, the Trust issued a press release announcing a forward share split on ProShares UltraShort Yen and ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil and a reverse share split on ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Natural Gas and ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil. The Splits did not change the value of a shareholder’s investment. ProShares UltraShort Yen executed a 2:1 Forward Split of its shares. ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil executed a 4:1 Forward Split of its shares. The Forward Splits were effective at the market open on May 26, 2022, when the Funds began trading at their post-Forward Split prices. The ticker symbol for the Funds did not change. The Forward Splits decreased the price per share of the Funds with a proportionate increase in the number of shares outstanding. ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Natural Gas executed a 1:4 Reverse Split of its shares. ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil executed a 1:5 Reverse Split of its shares. The Reverse Splits were effective at the market open on May 26, 2022, when the Funds began trading at their post-Reverse Split prices. The ticker symbol for the Funds did not change, but the Funds issued new CUSIP numbers (74347Y813 for KOLD and 74347Y797 for SCO). The Reverse Splits increased the price per share of the Funds with a proportionate decrease in the number of shares outstanding.

On June 7, 2023, the Trust issued a press release announcing a reverse share split on ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF, ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF and ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas. The Splits did not change the value of a shareholder’s investment. ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF executed a 1:5 Reverse Split of its shares. ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF executed a 1:10 Reverse Split of its shares. ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas ETF executed a 1:20 Reverse Split of its shares. The Reverse Splits were effective at the market open on June 23, 2023, when the Funds began trading at their post-Reverse Split prices. The ticker symbol for the Funds did not change, but the Funds issued new CUSIP numbers (74347Y789 for VIXY, 74347Y771 for UVXY, and 74347Y763 for BOIL). The Reverse Splits increased the price per share of the Funds with a proportionate decrease in the number of shares outstanding.

Investment Objectives and Principal Investment Strategies

Investment Objectives

The Matching Funds

Investment Objectives of the “Matching VIX” Funds

Each Matching VIX Fund seeks investment results, before fees and expenses, that over time, match the performance of the Short-Term VIX Index or the Mid-Term VIX Index (together, the “VIX Futures Indexes”). The VIX Futures Indexes seek to offer exposure to forward market equity volatility through publicly traded futures markets. If a Matching VIX Fund is successful in meeting its objective, its value, before fees and expenses, should gain approximately as much on a percentage basis as the level of its corresponding VIX Futures Index when the benchmark rises. Conversely, its value, before fees and expenses, should lose approximately as much on a percentage basis as the level of its benchmark when the benchmark declines. Each Matching VIX Fund acquires exposure through any one of or combinations of Financial Instruments, including Financial Instruments with respect to the applicable Matching VIX Fund; such that each Matching VIX Fund has exposure intended to approximate its applicable VIX Futures Index at the time of its NAV calculation. The VIX Futures Indexes track the performance of VIX futures contracts; they do not track the performance of the Cboe VIX, and the Matching VIX Funds should not be expected to match the performance of the VIX.

The Geared Funds

Investment Objectives of the “Short” Fund

The ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to one-half the inverse (-0.5x) of the daily performance of its benchmark (referred to, for Geared Funds, as the “Daily Target”). If the ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF is successful in meeting its objective, its value on a given day, before fees and expenses, should gain approximately one-half as much on a percentage basis as its corresponding benchmark when the benchmark declines. Conversely, its value on a given day, before fees and expenses, should lose approximately one-half as much on a percentage basis as the corresponding benchmark when the benchmark rises. The ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF will acquire short exposure through any one of or combinations of Financial Instruments, including Financial Instruments with respect to the ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF benchmark, such that the Fund has exposure intended to approximate the one-half inverse (-0.5x) of its corresponding benchmark at the time of its NAV calculation. The Fund is benchmarked to the S&P VIX Short-Term Futures Index, an investable index of VIX futures contracts. The Fund is not benchmarked to the VIX.

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Investment Objectives of the “UltraShort” Funds

Each “UltraShort” Fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to two times the inverse (-2x) of the daily performance of its corresponding benchmark. Expenses may include, among other things, costs related to the purchase, sale and storage of commodities or currencies and the cost of leverage, all of which may be embedded in Financial Instruments used by that Fund. If an UltraShort Fund is successful in meeting its objective, its value on a given day, before fees and expenses, should gain approximately two times as much on a percentage basis as its corresponding benchmark when the benchmark declines. Conversely, its value on a given day, before fees and expenses, should lose approximately two times as much on a percentage basis as the corresponding benchmark when the benchmark rises. Each UltraShort Fund acquires short exposure through any one of or combinations of Financial Instruments, including Financial Instruments with respect to the applicable UltraShort Fund’s benchmark, such that each UltraShort Fund has exposure intended to approximate two times the inverse (-2x) of its corresponding benchmark at the time of its NAV calculation.

Investment Objectives of the “Ultra” Funds

Each “Ultra” Fund, other than the ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF, seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to two times (2x) the daily performance of its corresponding benchmark. Expenses may include, among other things, costs related to the purchase, sale and storage of commodities or currencies and the cost of leverage, all of which may be embedded in Financial Instruments used by that Fund. If an Ultra Fund, other than the ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF, is successful in meeting its objective, its value on a given day, before fees and expenses, should gain approximately two times as much on a percentage basis as its corresponding benchmark when the benchmark rises. Conversely, its value on a given day, before fees and expenses, should lose approximately two times as much on a percentage basis as the corresponding benchmark when the benchmark declines. Each Ultra Fund, other than the ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF, acquires long exposure through any one of or combinations of Financial Instruments, including Financial Instruments with respect to the applicable Ultra Fund’s benchmark such that each Ultra Fund, other than the ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF, has exposure intended to approximate two times (2x) its corresponding benchmark at the time of its NAV calculation.

The ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to one and one-half times (1.5x) the daily performance of its corresponding benchmark. If the ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF is successful in meeting its objective, its value on a given day, before fees and expenses, should gain approximately one and one-half times as much on a percentage basis as its corresponding benchmark when the benchmark rises. Conversely, its value on a given day, before fees and expenses, should lose approximately one and one-half times as much on a percentage basis as the corresponding benchmark when the benchmark declines. The ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF acquires long exposure through any one of or combinations of Financial Instruments, including Financial Instruments with respect to the ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF benchmark such that the Fund has exposure intended to approximate one and one-half times (1.5x) its corresponding benchmark at the time of its NAV calculation. The Fund is benchmarked to the S&P VIX Short-Term Futures Index, an investable index of VIX futures contracts. The Fund is not benchmarked to the VIX.

The Geared Funds do not seek to achieve their Daily Target for any period other than a day.

The corresponding benchmark for each Fund is listed below:

ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF, ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF and ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF: The S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index. The S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index seeks to offer exposure to market volatility through publicly traded futures markets and is designed to measure the return from a rolling long position in the first and second month VIX futures contracts.

ProShares VIX Mid-Term Futures ETF: The S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures Index. The S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures Index seeks to offer exposure to market volatility through publicly traded futures markets and is designed to measure the return from a rolling long position in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh month VIX futures contracts.

ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil and ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil: The Bloomberg Commodity Balanced WTI Crude Oil Index^SM. The Bloomberg Commodity Balanced WTI Crude Oil Index^SM is designed to track crude oil futures prices.

ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Natural Gas and ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas: The Bloomberg Natural Gas Subindex^SM. The Bloomberg Natural Gas Subindex^SM is designed to track natural gas futures prices traded on the NYMEX.

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ProShares UltraShort Gold and ProShares Ultra Gold: The Bloomberg Gold Subindex^SM. The Bloomberg Gold Subindex^SM is intended to reflect the performance of gold, as measured by the price of COMEX gold futures contracts.

ProShares UltraShort Silver and ProShares Ultra Silver: The Bloomberg Silver Subindex^SM. The Bloomberg Silver Subindex^SM is intended to reflect the performance of silver, as measured by the price of COMEX silver futures contracts.

ProShares UltraShort Euro and ProShares Ultra Euro: The 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) spot price of the euro versus the U.S. dollar, using euro/U.S. dollar exchange rate as provided by Bloomberg, expressed in terms of U.S. dollars per unit of foreign currency.

ProShares UltraShort Yen and ProShares Ultra Yen: The 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) spot price of the Japanese yen versus the U.S. dollar using the Japanese yen/U.S. dollar exchange rate as provided by Bloomberg, expressed in terms of U.S. dollars per unit of foreign currency.

Principal Investment Strategies

In seeking to achieve each Fund’s investment objective or Daily Target, the Sponsor uses a mathematical approach to investing. Using this approach, the Sponsor determines the type, quantity and mix of Financial Instruments the Sponsor believes, in combination, should produce returns consistent with a Fund’s objective or Daily Target. The Funds are not actively managed by traditional methods (e.g., by effecting changes in the composition of a portfolio on the basis of judgments relating to economic, financial and market conditions with a view toward obtaining positive results under all market conditions). Each Fund seeks to remain fully invested at all times in Financial Instruments and money market instruments that, in combination, provide exposure to its underlying benchmark consistent with its investment objective without regard to market conditions, trends or direction.

Certain of the Funds may obtain exposure through Financial Instruments to a representative sample of the components in its underlying index, which have aggregate characteristics similar to those of the underlying benchmark. This “sampling” process typically involves selecting a representative sample of components in the benchmark principally to enhance liquidity and reduce transaction costs while seeking to maintain high correlation with, and similar aggregate characteristics (e.g., underlying commodities and valuations) to, the underlying benchmark. In addition, the Funds may obtain exposure to components not included in the underlying benchmark, invest in assets that are not included in the underlying benchmark or may overweight or underweight certain components contained in the underlying benchmark. For further discussion of the Financial Instruments, see “Information about Financial Instruments and Commodities Markets” below.

Information about Financial Instruments and Commodities Markets

Swap Agreements

Swap agreements are two-party contracts that have traditionally been entered into primarily by institutional investors in over the counter (“OTC”) markets for a specified period ranging from a day to more than a year. However, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) provides for significant reforms of the OTC derivatives markets, including a requirement to execute certain swap and forward transactions on a CFTC-regulated market and/or to clear such transactions through a CFTC-regulated central clearing organization. In a standard swap transaction, the parties agree to exchange the returns on a particular predetermined investment, instrument or index for a fixed or floating rate of return (the “interest rate leg,” which will also include the cost of borrowing for short swaps) in respect of a predetermined notional amount. The notional amount of the agreement reflects the extent of a Fund’s total investment exposure under the swap agreement. Transaction or commission costs are reflected in the benchmark level at which the transaction is entered into. The gross returns to be exchanged are calculated with respect to the notional amount and the benchmark returns to which the swap is linked. Swaps are usually closed out on a net basis, i.e., the two payment streams are netted out in a cash settlement on the payment date specified in the agreement, with the parties receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments. Thus, while the notional amount reflects a Fund’s total investment exposure under the swap agreement (i.e., the entire face amount or principal of a swap agreement), the net amount is a Fund’s current obligations (or rights) under the swap agreement, which is the net amount to be paid or received under the agreement based on the relative values of the positions held by each party to the agreement on any given termination date. In a typical swap agreement entered into by an UltraShort Fund or a Short Fund, absent fees, transaction costs and interest, such Fund would be required to make payments to the swap counterparty in the event the benchmark increases and would be entitled to settlement payments in the event the benchmark decreases. In a typical swap agreement entered into by an Ultra Fund, absent fees, transaction costs and interest, the Ultra Fund would be entitled to settlement payments in the event the benchmark increases and would be required to make payments to the swap counterparty in the event the benchmark decreases.

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Swap agreements involve, to varying degrees, elements of market risk and exposure to loss in excess of the amount which would be reflected on the Statement of Financial Condition. The notional amounts of the agreement reflect the extent of each Ultra Fund’s total investment exposure under the swap agreement. An UltraShort Fund’s or a Short Fund’s exposure is not limited by the notional amount and its exposure is in theory potentially infinite as there is no fixed limit on the increase in any index value. The primary risks associated with the use of swap agreements arise from the inability of counterparties to perform. Each Fund that invests in swaps bears the risk of loss of the net amount, if any, expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap counterparty. Each such Fund enters or intends to enter into swap agreements only with major, global financial institutions; however, there are no limitations on the percentage of its assets each Fund may invest in swap agreements with a particular counterparty. Each Fund that invests in swaps may use various techniques to minimize credit risk including early termination or reset and payment, using different counterparties and limiting the net amount due from any individual counterparty.

Each Fund that invests in swaps generally collateralizes the swap agreements with cash and/or certain securities. Collateral posted in connection with OTC derivative transactions is generally held for the benefit of the counterparty in a segregated tri-party account at the Custodian to protect the counterparty against non-payment by the Fund. The counterparty also may collateralize the OTC swap agreements with cash and/or certain securities, which collateral is typically held for the benefit of the Fund in a segregated tri-party account at a third party custodian. In the event of a default by the counterparty, and the Fund is owed money in the OTC swap transaction, such Fund will seek withdrawal of this collateral from the segregated account and may incur certain costs exercising its right with respect to the collateral. These Funds remain subject to credit risk with respect to the amount it expects to receive from counterparties.

The Funds have sought to mitigate these risks in connection with the OTC swaps by generally requiring that the counterparties for each Fund agree to post collateral for the benefit of the Fund, marked to market daily, subject to certain minimum thresholds; however there are no limitations on the percentage of its assets each Fund may invest in swap agreements with a particular counterparty. To the extent any such collateral is insufficient or there are delays in accessing the collateral, the Funds will be exposed to counterparty risk as described above, including possible delays in recovering amounts as a result of bankruptcy proceedings.

The counterparty risk for cleared derivative transactions is generally lower than for OTC derivatives since generally a clearing organization becomes substituted for each counterparty to a cleared derivative contract and, in effect, guarantees the parties’ performance under the contract as each party to a trade looks only to the clearing house for performance of financial obligations. In addition, cleared derivative transactions benefit from daily marking-to-market and settlement, and segregation and minimum capital requirements applicable to intermediaries.

Forward Contracts

A forward contract is a contractual obligation to purchase or sell a specified quantity of a particular underlying asset at or before a specified date in the future at a specified price and, therefore, is economically similar to a futures contract. Unlike futures contracts, however, forward contracts are typically traded in the OTC markets and are not standardized contracts. Forward contracts for a given commodity or currency are generally available for various amounts and maturities and subject to individual negotiation between the parties involved. Moreover, there is generally no direct means of offsetting or closing out a forward contract by taking an offsetting position as one would a futures contract on a U.S. exchange. If a trader desires to close out a forward contract position, he generally will establish an opposite position in the contract but will settle and recognize the profit or loss on both positions simultaneously on the delivery date. Thus, unlike in the futures contract market where a trader who has offset positions will recognize profit or loss immediately, in the forward market a trader with a position that has been offset at a profit will generally not receive such profit until the delivery date, and likewise a trader with a position that has been offset at a loss will generally not have to pay money until the delivery date. In recent years, however, the terms of forward contracts have become more standardized, and in some instances such contracts now provide a right of offset or cash settlement as an alternative to making or taking delivery of the underlying commodity or currency. The primary risks associated with the use of forward contracts arise from the inability of the counterparty to perform.

Each Fund that invests in forward contracts generally collateralizes the OTC forward contracts with cash and/or certain securities. Such collateral is generally held for the benefit of the counterparty in a segregated tri-party account at the Custodian to protect the counterparty against non-payment by the Fund. The counterparty also may collateralize the OTC forward contracts with cash and/or certain securities, which collateral is typically held for the benefit of the Fund in a segregated tri-party account at a third party custodian. In the event of a default by the counterparty, and the Fund is owed money in the OTC forward transaction, such Fund will seek withdrawal of this collateral from the segregated account and may incur certain costs exercising its right with respect to the collateral. These Funds remain subject to credit risk with respect to the amount it expects to receive from OTC counterparties.

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The Funds have sought to mitigate these risks with respect to OTC forwards by generally requiring that the counterparties for each Fund agree to post collateral for the benefit of the Fund, marked to market daily, subject to certain minimum thresholds; however, there are no limitations on the percentage of its assets each Fund may invest in forward contracts with a particular counterparty. To the extent any such collateral is insufficient or there are delays in accessing the collateral, the Funds will be exposed to counterparty risk as described above, including possible delays in recovering amounts as a result of bankruptcy proceedings.

The forward markets provide what has typically been a highly liquid market for foreign exchange trading, and in certain cases the prices quoted for foreign exchange forward contracts may be more favorable than the prices for foreign exchange futures contracts traded on U.S. exchanges. Forward contracts have traditionally not been cleared or guaranteed by a third party. However, the Dodd-Frank Act provides for significant reforms of OTC derivatives markets. As a result of the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFTC now regulates non- deliverable forwards (including deliverable forwards where the parties do not take delivery). Certain non-deliverable forward contracts, such as non-deliverable foreign exchange forwards, may be subject to regulation as swap agreements, including mandatory clearing. All foreign exchange forwards, including non-deliverable foreign exchange forwards as well as physically settled foreign exchange forwards, are subject to new reporting requirements. Changes in the forward markets may entail increased costs and result in burdensome reporting requirements.

Commercial banks participating in trading OTC foreign exchange forward contracts often do not require margin deposits, but rely upon internal credit limitations and their judgments regarding the creditworthiness of their counterparties. In recent years, however, many OTC market participants in foreign exchange trading have begun to require that their counterparties post margin.

Futures Contracts

A futures contract is a standardized contract traded on, or subject to the rules of, an exchange that calls for the future delivery of a specified quantity and type of commodity at a specified time and place or alternatively, may call for cash settlement as is the case with VIX futures contracts. Futures contracts are traded on a wide variety of commodities, including bonds, interest rates, agricultural products, stock indexes, currencies, energy, metals, economic indicators and statistical measures. The notional size and calendar term of futures contracts on a particular commodity are identical and are not subject to any negotiation, other than with respect to price and the number of contracts traded between the buyer and seller. Each Fund generally deposits cash with a Futures Commission Merchant (“FCM”) for its open positions in futures contracts, which may, in turn, transfer such deposits to the clearing house to protect the clearing house against non-payment by the Fund. The clearing house becomes substituted for each counterparty to a futures contract, and in effect, guarantees performance. In addition, the FCM may require the Funds to deposit collateral in excess of the clearing house’s margin requirements for the FCM’s own protection.

Certain futures contracts, such as VIX futures contracts, as well as stock index contracts and certain commodity futures contracts, settle in cash, reflecting the difference between the contract purchase/sale price and the contract settlement price. The cash settlement mechanism avoids the potential for either side to have to deliver the underlying asset. For other futures contracts, the contractual obligations of a buyer or seller may generally be satisfied by taking or making physical delivery of the underlying asset or by making an offsetting sale or purchase of an identical futures contract on the same or linked exchange before the designated date of delivery. The difference between the price at which the futures contract is purchased or sold and the price paid for the offsetting sale or purchase, after allowance for brokerage commissions, constitutes the profit or loss to the trader.

Regulations

Derivatives exchanges in the United States are subject to regulation under the CEA, by the CFTC, the governmental agency having responsibility for regulation of derivatives exchanges and trading on those exchanges. Following the adoption of the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFTC also has authority to regulate OTC derivative markets, including certain OTC foreign exchange markets. The CFTC has exclusive authority to designate exchanges for the trading of specific futures contracts and options on futures contracts and to prescribe rules and regulations of the marketing of each. The CFTC also regulates the activities of “commodity pool operators” and the CFTC has adopted regulations with respect to certain of such persons’ activities. Pursuant to its authority, the CFTC requires a commodity pool operator, such as the Sponsor, to keep accurate, current and orderly records with respect to each pool it operates. The CFTC may suspend, modify or terminate the registration of any registrant for failure to comply with CFTC rules or regulations. Suspension, restriction or termination of the Sponsor’s registration as a commodity pool operator would prevent it, until such time (if any) as such registration were to be reinstated, from managing, and might result in the termination of the Funds. If the Sponsor were unable to provide services and/or advice to the Funds, the Funds would be unable to pursue their investment objectives unless and until the Sponsor’s ability to provide services and advice to the Funds was reinstated or a replacement for the Sponsor as commodity pool operator could be found. Such an event could result in termination of the Funds.

The CEA requires all FCMs to meet and maintain specified fitness and financial requirements, segregate customer funds from proprietary funds and account separately for all customers’ funds and positions, and to maintain specified books and records open to inspection by the staff of the CFTC. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors. Failure of the FCMs to segregate assets may increase losses in the Funds.” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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The CEA also gives the states certain powers to enforce its provisions and the regulations of the CFTC.

Under certain circumstances, the CEA grants shareholders the right to institute a reparations proceeding before the CFTC against the Sponsor (as a registered commodity pool operator), an FCM, as well as those of their respective employees who are required to be registered under the CEA. Shareholders may also be able to maintain a private right of action for certain violations of the CEA.

Pursuant to authority in the CEA, the National Futures Association (the “NFA”) has been formed and registered with the CFTC as a registered futures association. At the present time, the NFA is the only self-regulatory organization for commodities professionals other than exchanges. As such, the NFA promulgates rules governing the conduct of commodity professionals and disciplines those professionals that do not comply with such standards. The CFTC has delegated to the NFA responsibility for the registration of commodity pool operators, FCMs, swap dealers, commodity trading advisors, introducing brokers and their respective associated persons and floor brokers. The Sponsor is a member of the NFA (the Funds themselves are not required to become members of the NFA). As an NFA member, the Sponsor is subject to NFA standards relating to fair trade practices, financial condition, and consumer protection. The CFTC is prohibited by statute from regulating trading on foreign commodity exchanges and markets.

The CEA and CFTC regulations prohibit market abuse and generally require that all futures exchange-based trading be conducted in compliance with rules designed to ensure the integrity of market prices and without any intent to manipulate prices. CFTC regulations and futures exchange rules also impose limits on the size of the positions that a person may hold or control as well as standards for aggregating certain positions. The rules of the CFTC and the futures exchanges also authorize special emergency actions to halt, suspend or limit trading overall or to restrict, halt, suspend or limit the trading of an individual trader or to otherwise impose special reporting or margin requirements. See also “Item 1A. Risk Factors. Regulatory changes or actions, including the implementation of new legislation, may alter the operations and profitability of the Funds” and “Item 1A. Risk Factors. Regulatory and exchange accountability levels may restrict the creation of Creation Units and the operation of the Trust” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Description of the Bloomberg Commodity Index ^SM and its Sub-Indexes

Overview of the Bloomberg Family of Indices

Bloomberg Commodity Balanced WTI Crude Oil Index^SM

ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil and ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil are designed to correspond, before fees and expenses, to two times the inverse (-2x) or two times (2x), respectively, of the daily performance of the Bloomberg Commodity Balanced WTI Crude Oil Index^SM, a sub-index of the Bloomberg Commodity Index. The Bloomberg Commodity Balanced WTI Crude Oil Index^SM is intended to track the performance of 3 separate contract schedules for WTI Crude Oil futures. One third of the Benchmark follows a monthly roll schedule two months beyond the nearby contract. The second third of the Benchmark follows a June annual roll schedule, while the remaining third follows a December annual roll schedule. The Benchmark weights are equally reset semi-annually in the months of March and September on close of the first business day. The weighting of the futures contracts included in the Benchmark is not linked to the “spot” price of WTI crude oil. For more information about the risks associated with rolling futures positions, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors. Potential negative impact from rolling futures positions” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Bloomberg Natural Gas Subindex^SM

ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Natural Gas and ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas are designed to correspond, before fees and expenses, to two times the inverse (-2x) or two times (2x), respectively, of the daily performance of the Bloomberg Natural Gas Subindex^SM, a sub-index of the Bloomberg Commodity Index. The Bloomberg Natural Gas Subindex^SM is intended to reflect the performance of a rolling position in natural gas futures contracts traded on the NYMEX without regard to income earned on cash positions. An investment in natural gas futures contracts may often perform very differently than the price of physical natural gas (e.g., the wellhead or end-user price of natural gas). See “Item 1A. Risk Factors. The Commodity Index Funds are linked to an index comprised of commodity futures contracts, and are not linked to the spot prices of the underlying physical commodities. Commodity futures contracts may perform very differently from the spot price of the underlying physical commodities” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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The Bloomberg Natural Gas Subindex^SM is based on the Natural Gas component of the Bloomberg Commodity Index, which is described above under “Bloomberg Commodity Index^SM,” and tracks what is known as a rolling futures position. The roll occurs over a period of five Bloomberg Commodity Index business days in certain months according to a pre-determined schedule, generally beginning on the sixth business day of the month and ending on the tenth business day. Each day, approximately 20% of each rolling futures position that is included in the month’s roll is rolled, increasing from 0% to 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and finally 100%. The exact roll methodology differs between certain commodities. The index will reflect the performance of its underlying natural gas contracts, including the impact of rolling, without regard to income earned on cash positions. For more information about the risks associated with rolling futures positions, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors. Potential negative impact from rolling futures positions” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Bloomberg Gold Subindex^SM

ProShares Ultra Gold and ProShares UltraShort Gold are designed to correspond, before fees and expenses, to two times (2x) or two times the inverse (-2x), respectively, of the daily performance of the Bloomberg Gold Subindex^SM, a sub-index of the Bloomberg Commodity Index. The Bloomberg Gold Subindex is intended to reflect the performance of gold, as measured by the price of COMEX gold futures contracts, including the impact of rolling, without regard to income earned on cash positions. The Gold Subindex is not directly linked to the “spot price” of gold. Futures contracts may perform very differently from the spot price of gold.

The Gold Subindex is based on the gold component of the Bloomberg Commodity Index and tracks what is known as a rolling futures position. Unlike equities, which entitle the holder to a continuing stake in a corporation, commodity futures contracts specify a delivery date for the underlying physical commodity or its cash equivalent. The Gold Subindex is a “rolling index,” which means that the Gold Subindex does not take physical possession of any commodities. An investor with a rolling futures position is able to avoid delivering (or taking delivery of) underlying physical commodities while maintaining exposure to those commodities. The roll occurs over a period of five Gold Subindex business days in certain months according to a pre-determined schedule, generally beginning on the sixth business day of the month and ending on the tenth business day. Each day, approximately 20% of each rolling futures position that is included in the month’s roll is rolled, increasing from 0% to 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and finally 100%. The Gold Subindex will reflect the performance of its underlying gold futures contracts, including the impact of rolling, without regard to the income earned on cash positions.

Bloomberg Silver Subindex^SM

ProShares Ultra Silver and ProShares UltraShort Silver are designed to correspond, before fees and expenses, to two times (2x) or two times the inverse (-2x), respectively, of the daily performance of the Bloomberg Silver Subindex^SM, a sub-index of the Bloomberg Commodity Index. The Bloomberg Silver Subindex is intended to reflect the performance of silver, as measured by the price of COMEX silver futures contracts, including the impact of rolling, without regard to income earned on cash positions. The Silver Subindex is not directly linked to the “spot price” of silver. Futures contracts may perform very differently from the spot price of silver.

The Silver Subindex is based on the silver component of the Bloomberg Commodity Index and tracks what is known as a rolling futures position. Unlike equities, which entitle the holder to a continuing stake in a corporation, commodity futures contracts specify a delivery date for the underlying physical commodity or its cash equivalent. The Silver Subindex is a “rolling index,” which means that the Silver Subindex does not take physical possession of any commodities. An investor with a rolling futures position is able to avoid delivering (or taking delivery of) underlying physical commodities while maintaining exposure to those commodities. The roll occurs over a period of five Silver Subindex business days in certain months according to a pre-determined schedule, generally beginning on the sixth business day of the month and ending on the tenth business day. Each day, approximately 20% of each rolling futures position that is included in the month’s roll is rolled, increasing from 0% to 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and finally 100%. The Silver Subindex will reflect the performance of its underlying silver futures contracts, including the impact of rolling, without regard to the income earned on cash positions.

Information about the Index Licensor

“Bloomberg^®”, “Bloomberg Commodity Index^SM”, “Bloomberg Commodity Balanced WTI Crude Oil Index^SM”, “Bloomberg Natural Gas Subindex^SM”, “Bloomberg Gold Subindex^SM” and “Bloomberg Silver Subindex^SM” are service marks of Bloomberg Finance L.P. and its affiliates, including Bloomberg Index Services Limited (“BISL”), the administrator of the indices (collectively, “Bloomberg”) and have been licensed for use for certain purposes by ProShares Trust II (“Licensee”).

The Products are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Bloomberg. Bloomberg does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of or counterparties to the Product(s) or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities or commodities generally or in the Product(s) particularly. The only relationship of Bloomberg to the Licensee is the licensing of certain trademarks, trade names and service marks and of the Bloomberg Commodity Index^SM, the Bloomberg

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Commodity Balanced WTI Crude Oil Index^SM, the Bloomberg Natural Gas Subindex^SM, the Bloomberg Gold Subindex^SM and the Bloomberg Silver Subindex^SM, which are determined, composed and calculated by BISL without regard to the Licensee or the Product(s). Bloomberg has no obligation to take the needs of the Licensee or the owners of the Product(s) into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Bloomberg Commodity Index^SM, the Bloomberg Commodity Balanced WTI Crude Oil Index^SM, the Bloomberg Natural Gas Subindex^SM, the Bloomberg Gold Subindex^SM or the Bloomberg Silver Subindex^SM. Bloomberg is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the Product(s) to be issued or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Product(s) are to be converted into cash. Bloomberg shall not have any obligation or liability, including, without limitation, to Products customers, in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Product(s).

This Annual Report on Form 10-K relates only to Products and does not relate to the exchange-traded physical commodities underlying any of the Bloomberg Commodity Index^SM, the Bloomberg Commodity Balanced WTI Crude Oil Index^SM, the Bloomberg Natural Gas Subindex^SM, the Bloomberg Gold Subindex^SM or the Bloomberg Silver Subindex^SM components. Purchasers of the Products should not conclude that the inclusion of a futures contract in the Bloomberg Commodity Index^SM, the Bloomberg Commodity Balanced WTI Crude Oil Index^SM, the Bloomberg Natural Gas Subindex^SM, the Bloomberg Gold Subindex^SM or the Bloomberg Silver Subindex^SM is any form of investment recommendation of the futures contract or the underlying exchange-traded physical commodity by Bloomberg. The information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K regarding the Bloomberg Commodity Index^SM, the Bloomberg Commodity Balanced WTI Crude Oil Index^SM, the Bloomberg Natural Gas Subindex^SM, the Bloomberg Gold Subindex^SM and the Bloomberg Silver Subindex^SM components has been derived solely from publicly available documents. Bloomberg has not made any due diligence inquiries with respect to the Bloomberg Commodity Index^SM, the Bloomberg Commodity Balanced WTI Crude Oil Index^SM, the Bloomberg Natural Gas Subindex^SM, the Bloomberg Gold Subindex^SM or the Bloomberg Silver Subindex^SM components in connection with Products. Bloomberg makes no representation that these publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding the Bloomberg Commodity Index^SM, the Bloomberg Commodity Balanced WTI Crude Oil Index^SM, the Bloomberg Natural Gas Subindex^SM, the Bloomberg Gold Subindex^SM or the Bloomberg Silver Subindex^SM components, including without limitation a description of factors that affect the prices of such components, are accurate or complete.

BLOOMBERG DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE BLOOMBERG COMMODITY INDEXSM, THE BLOOMBERG COMMODITY BALANCED WTI CRUDE OIL INDEXSM, THE BLOOMBERG NATURAL GAS SUBINDEXSM, THE BLOOMBERG GOLD SUBINDEXSM OR THE BLOOMBERG SILVER SUBINDEXSM OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO AND SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS OR INTERRUPTIONS THEREIN. BLOOMBERG DOES NOT MAKE ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY THE LICENSEE, OWNERS OF THE PRODUCT(S) OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE BLOOMBERG COMMODITY INDEXSM, THE BLOOMBERG COMMODITY BALANCED WTI CRUDE OIL INDEXSM, THE BLOOMBERG NATURAL GAS SUBINDEXSM, THE BLOOMBERG GOLD SUBINDEXSM OR THE BLOOMBERG SILVER SUBINDEXSM OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. BLOOMBERG DOES NOT MAKE ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE BLOOMBERG COMMODITY INDEXSM, THE BLOOMBERG COMMODITY BALANCED WTI CRUDE OIL INDEXSM, THE BLOOMBERG NATURAL GAS SUBINDEXSM, THE BLOOMBERG GOLD SUBINDEXSM OR THE BLOOMBERG SILVER SUBINDEXSM OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, BLOOMBERG, ITS LICENSORS, AND ITS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, AGENTS, SUPPLIERS, AND VENDORS SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY WHATSOEVER FOR ANY INJURY OR DAMAGES —WHETHER DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE OR OTHERWISE —ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH THE NAME OF PRODUCT OR NAME OF INDEX OR ANY DATA OR VALUES RELATING THERETO —WHETHER ARISING FROM THEIR NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY THEREOF.

Description of the Currencies Benchmarks

The Currency Funds are designed to correspond, before fees and expenses, to two times the inverse (-2x), or two times (2x) of the daily performance of the spot price of the applicable currency versus the U.S. dollar. The spot price of each currency is measured by the 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) spot prices as provided by Bloomberg, expressed in terms of U.S. dollars per unit of foreign currency. The Currency Funds do not necessarily directly or physically hold the underlying currency and will instead seek exposure through the use of certain Financial Instruments whose value is based on the price of the underlying currency to pursue its investment objective.

Euro

ProShares UltraShort Euro and ProShares Ultra Euro are designed to correspond, before fees and expenses, to the two times the inverse (-2x), or two times (2x), respectively, of the daily performance of the euro spot price versus the U.S. dollar. These Funds use the 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) euro/U.S. dollar exchange rate as provided by Bloomberg, expressed in terms of U.S. dollars per unit of foreign currency, as the basis for the underlying benchmark.

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In 1998, the European Central Bank in Frankfurt was organized by Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain in order to establish a common currency-the euro. Unlike the U.S. Federal Reserve System, the Bank of Japan and other comparable central banks, the European Central Bank is a central authority that conducts monetary policy for an economic area consisting of many otherwise largely autonomous states.

At its inception on January 1, 1999, the euro was launched as an electronic currency used by banks, foreign exchange dealers and stock markets. In 2002, the euro became cash currency for approximately 300 million citizens of twelve European countries (the eleven countries mentioned above, in addition to Greece). As of December 31, 2023, 23 countries used the euro, including Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, and the Vatican City.

The European financial markets and the value of the euro have experienced significant volatility, in part related to unemployment, budget deficits and economic downturns. In addition, several member countries of the Economic and Monetary Union (the “EMU”) of the European Union (the “EU”) have experienced credit rating downgrades, rising government debt levels and, for certain EU member countries (including Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy), weaknesses in sovereign debt. Following a referendum in June 2016, the United Kingdom formally exited the EU on January 31, 2020 (known as “Brexit”). During a transition period where the United Kingdom remained subject to EU rules but had no role in the EU law-making process, the United Kingdom and EU representatives negotiated the precise terms of their future relationship, reaching an agreement on December 24, 2020. On December 31, 2020, the transition period concluded and the terms of the new agreement went into effect on January 1, 2021. The complete impact of the new agreement, as well as the full scope and nature of the consequences of the exit, are not at this time known and are unlikely to be known for a significant period of time, but the future direction of the value of non-U.S. currencies or the U.S. dollar and, in turn, affect the value of the Currency Funds. In addition, these uncertainties could increase volatility in the market prices of non-U.S. currencies or the U.S. dollar and, in turn, affect the value of the Currency Funds. The effects of Brexit will depend on agreements the UK negotiates to retain access to EU markets either during a transitional period or more permanently. Brexit could lead to legal and tax uncertainty and potentially divergent national laws and regulations as the UK determines which EU laws to replace and replicate.

Although the European countries that have adopted the euro are members of the European Union (“EU”), the United Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden are EU members that have not adopted the euro as their national currency.

Japanese Yen

ProShares UltraShort Yen and ProShares Ultra Yen are designed to correspond, before fees and expenses, to two times the inverse (-2x) or two times (2x), respectively, of the daily performance of the Japanese yen spot price versus the U.S. dollar. These Funds use the 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) Japanese yen/U.S. dollar exchange rate as provided by Bloomberg, expressed in terms of U.S. dollars per unit of foreign currency, as the basis for the underlying benchmark.

The Japanese yen has been the official currency of Japan since 1871. The Bank of Japan has been operating as the central bank of Japan since 1882.

Description of the VIX Futures Indexes

The VIX Funds seek to offer exposure to forward equity market volatility by obtaining exposure to the VIX Futures Indexes, which are based on publicly traded VIX futures contracts. The VIX Futures Indexes are intended to reflect the returns that are potentially available through an unleveraged investment in the VIX futures contracts comprising each VIX Futures Index. The VIX, which is not the index underlying the VIX Funds, is calculated based on the prices of put and call options on the S&P 500. The VIX Funds can be expected to perform very differently from the VIX.

The Short-Term VIX Index employs rules for selecting VIX futures contracts comprising the Short-Term VIX Index and a formula to calculate a level for that index from the prices of these VIX futures contracts. Specifically, the VIX futures contracts comprising the Short-Term VIX Index represent the prices of two near-term VIX futures contracts, replicating a position that rolls the nearest month VIX futures to the next month VIX futures on a daily basis in equal fractional amounts. This results in a constant weighted average maturity of one-month. The roll period begins on the Tuesday prior to the monthly Cboe VIX futures settlement and runs through the Tuesday prior to the subsequent month’s Cboe VIX futures settlement date.

The Mid-Term VIX Index also employs rules for selecting its VIX futures contracts comprising the Mid-Term VIX Index and a formula to calculate a level for that index from the prices of these VIX futures contracts. Specifically, the VIX futures contracts comprising the Mid-Term VIX Index represent the prices for four contract months of VIX futures contracts, representing a rolling long position in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh month VIX futures contracts. The Mid-Term VIX Index rolls continuously throughout each month while maintaining positions in the fifth and sixth month contracts. This results in a constant weighted average maturity of five months.

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The level of each VIX Futures Index will be published by Bloomberg L.P. in real time and at the close of trading on each VIX Futures Index business day under the following ticker symbols:

The performance of the VIX Futures Indexes is influenced by the S&P 500 (and options thereon) and the VIX. A description of VIX futures contracts, the VIX and the S&P 500 follows:

VIX Futures Contracts

Both VIX Futures Indexes are comprised of VIX futures contracts. VIX futures contracts were first launched for trading by the Cboe in 2004. VIX futures contracts allow investors to invest based on their view of the forward implied market volatility of the S&P 500. Investors that believe the forward implied market volatility of the S&P 500 will increase may buy VIX futures contracts. Conversely, investors that believe that the forward implied market volatility of the S&P 500 will decline may sell VIX futures contracts.

While the VIX represents a measure of the current expected volatility of the S&P 500 over the next 30 days, the prices of VIX futures contracts are based on the current expectation of the expected 30-day volatility of the S&P 500 on the expiration date of the futures contract. Since the VIX and VIX futures contracts are two distinctly different measures, the VIX and VIX futures contracts generally behave quite differently.

The VIX

The VIX Funds are not linked to the VIX and can be expected to perform very differently from the VIX. The VIX is an index designed to measure the implied volatility of the S&P 500 over 30 days in the future, and is calculated based on the prices of certain put and call options on the S&P 500. The VIX is reflective of the premium paid by investors for certain options linked to the level of the S&P 500. During periods of rising investor uncertainty, including periods of market instability, the implied level of volatility of the S&P 500 typically increases and, consequently, the prices of options linked to the S&P 500 typically increase (assuming all other relevant factors remain constant or have negligible changes). This, in turn, causes the level of the VIX to increase. The VIX has historically had a negative correlation to the S&P 500. The VIX was developed by the Cboe and is calculated, maintained and published by the Cboe. The Cboe has no obligation to continue to publish, and may discontinue the publication of, the VIX. The VIX is reported by Bloomberg under the ticker symbol “VIX.”

The calculation of the VIX involves a formula that uses the prices of a weighted series of out-of-the-money put and call options on the level of the S&P 500 (“SPX Options”) with two adjacent expiry terms to derive a constant 30-day forward measure of market volatility. The VIX is calculated independent of any particular option pricing model and in doing so seeks to eliminate any biases which may otherwise be included in using options pricing methodology based on certain assumptions. Although the VIX measures the 30-day forward volatility of the S&P 500 as implied by the SPX Options, 30-day options are only available once a month. To arrive at the VIX level, a broad range of out-of-the-money SPX Options expiring on the two closest nearby months (“near term options” and “next term options,” respectively) are selected in order to bracket a 30-day calendar period. SPX Options having a maturity of less than eight days are excluded at the outset and, when the near term options have eight days or less left to expiration, the VIX rolls to the second and third contract months in order to minimize pricing anomalies that occur close to expiration. The model-free implied volatility using prices of the near term options and next term options are then calculated on a strike price weighted average basis in order to arrive at a single average implied volatility value for each month. The results of each of the two months are then interpolated to arrive at a single value with a constant maturity of 30 days to expiration.

The S&P 500

The S&P 500 is an index that measures large-cap U.S. stock market performance. It is a float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index of 500 U.S. operating companies and real estate investment trusts selected by the S&P U.S. Index Committee through a non-mechanical process that factor in criteria such as domicile, investible weight factor, liquidity, market capitalization and financial viability. Changes to the index composition are made on an as needed basis. There is no scheduled reconstitution. Rather, changes in response to corporate actions and market developments can be made at any time. As of December 31, 2023, the S&P 500 included companies with capitalizations between $4.9 billion and $3.0 trillion. The average capitalization of the companies comprising the Index was approximately $83.6 billion. S&P publishes the S&P 500. The daily calculation of the current value of the S&P 500 is based on the relative value of the aggregate market value of the common stocks of 500 companies as of a particular time compared to the

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aggregate average initial market value of the common stocks of 500 similar companies at the time of the inception of the S&P 500. The 500 companies are not the 500 largest publicly traded companies and not all 500 companies are listed on the NYSE. Constituent selection is at the discretion of the Index Committee and is based on eligibility criteria. The indices have a fixed constituent company count of 500, 400, and 600, respectively. Sector balance, as measured by a comparison of each GICs sector’s weight in the S&P Total Market Index, in the relevant capitalization range, is also considered in the selection of companies for the indices. S&P may from time-to-time, in its sole discretion, add companies to, or delete companies from, the S&P 500 to achieve the objectives stated above. Relevant criteria employed by S&P include the viability of the particular company, the extent to which that company represents the industry group to which it is assigned, the extent to which the company’s common stock is widely held and the market value and trading activity of the common stock of that company.

THE VIX FUNDS ARE NOT SPONSORED, ENDORSED, SOLD OR PROMOTED BY S&P AND ITS AFFILIATES OR CBOE. S&P AND CBOE MAKE NO REPRESENTATION, CONDITION OR WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, TO THE OWNERS OF THE VIX FUNDS OR ANY MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC REGARDING THE ADVISABILITY OF INVESTING IN SECURITIES GENERALLY OR IN THE VIX FUNDS PARTICULARLY OR THE ABILITY OF THE INDEXES TO TRACK MARKET PERFORMANCE AND/OR OF GROUPS OF ASSETS OR ASSET CLASSES AND/OR TO ACHIEVE ITS STATED OBJECTIVE AND/OR TO FORM THE BASIS OF A SUCCESSFUL INVESTMENT STRATEGY, AS APPLICABLE. S&P’S AND CBOE’S ONLY RELATIONSHIP TO THE TRUST ON BEHALF OF ITS APPLICABLE SERIES AND THE SPONSOR IS THE LICENSING OF CERTAIN TRADEMARKS AND TRADE NAMES AND OF THE VIX FUTURES INDEXES WHICH ARE DETERMINED, COMPOSED AND CALCULATED BY S&P WITHOUT REGARD TO THE TRUST ON BEHALF OF ITS APPLICABLE SERIES AND THE SPONSOR OR THE VIX FUNDS. S&P HAS NO OBLIGATION TO TAKE THE NEEDS OF THE TRUST ON BEHALF OF ITS APPLICABLE SERIES AND THE SPONSOR OR THE OWNERS OF THE VIX FUNDS INTO CONSIDERATION IN DETERMINING, COMPOSING OR CALCULATING THE VIX FUTURES INDEXES. S&P AND CBOE ARE NOT ADVISORS TO THE VIX FUNDS AND ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR AND HAVE NOT PARTICIPATED IN THE DETERMINATION OF THE PRICES AND AMOUNT OF THE VIX FUNDS OR THE TIMING OF THE ISSUANCE OR SALE OF THE VIX FUNDS OR IN THE DETERMINATION OR CALCULATION OF THE EQUATION BY WHICH THE VIX FUND SHARES ARE TO BE CONVERTED INTO CASH. S&P AND CBOE HAVE NO OBLIGATION OR LIABILITY IN CONNECTION WITH THE ADMINISTRATION, MARKETING, OR TRADING OF THE VIX FUNDS.

NEITHER S&P DOW JONES INDICES NOR THIRD PARTY LICENSOR GURANTEES THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE S&P 500 VIX MID-TERM FUTURES INDEX OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO OR ANY COMMUNICATION INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ORAL OR WRITTEN COMMUNCATION, (INCLUDING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS) WITH RESEPECT THERETO. NEITHER S&P DOW JONES INDICES NOR CBOE SHALL BE SUBJECT TO ANY DAMANGES OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR DELAYS THEREIN. S&P DOW JONES INDICES AND CBOE MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARCIULAR PRUPOSE OR USE AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY PROSHARES TRUST II, ON BEHALF OF ITS APPLICABLE SERIES, AND PROSHARE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC, OWNERS OF THE FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE S&P 500 VIX SHORT-TERM FUTURES ER MCAP INDEX OR WITH RESPECT TO ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. IN NO EVENT WHATSOEVER SHALL S&P DOW JONES INDICES OR CBOE, BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDEIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES, LOST TIME OR GOODWILL, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBLITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. THERE ARE NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN S&P DOW JONES INDICES AND PROSHARES TRUST II, ON BEHALF OF ITS APPLICABLE SERIES, OR PROSHARE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC, OTHER THAN THE LICENSORS OF S&P DOW JONES INDICES.

Creation and Redemption of Shares

Each Fund creates and redeems Shares from time to time, but only in one or more Creation Units. A Creation Unit is a block of 50,000 Shares of a Geared Fund or a block of 25,000 Shares of a Matching VIX Fund. Creation Units may be created or redeemed only by Authorized Participants. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the Shares are not redeemable securities.

The manner by which Creation Units are purchased and redeemed is dictated by the terms of the Authorized Participant Agreement and Authorized Participant Handbook. By placing a purchase order, an Authorized Participant agrees to deposit cash (unless as provided otherwise in the prospectus) with the Custodian of the Funds.

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From time to time the Sponsor, in its sole discretion, may impose limits on the number of Creation Units that may be created each day by each Authorized Participant, or on the total number of Creation Units that may be created by all Authorized Participants on such day, or may suspend the purchase and/or redemption of Creation Units altogether. For example, the Sponsor may impose such limits or suspension if it believes doing so would help a Fund manage its portfolio, such as by allowing a Fund to comply with counterparty or position limits, or in response to significant and/or rapid increases in the size of a Fund as a result of an increase in creation activity.

If permitted by the Sponsor in its sole discretion with respect to a Fund, an Authorized Participant may also agree to enter into or arrange for an exchange of a futures contract for a related position (“EFCRP”) or block trade with the relevant Fund whereby the Authorized Participant would also transfer to such Fund a number and type of exchange-traded futures contracts at or near the closing settlement price for such contracts on the purchase order date. Similarly, the Sponsor in its sole discretion may agree with an Authorized Participant to use an EFCRP to affect an order to redeem Creation Units.

An EFCRP is a technique permitted by the rules of the applicable futures exchange that, as utilized by a Fund in the Sponsor’s discretion, would allow such Fund to take a position in a futures contract from an Authorized Participant, or give futures contracts to an Authorized Participant, in the case of a redemption, rather than to enter the futures exchange markets to obtain such a position. An EFCRP by itself will not change either party’s net risk position materially. Because the futures position that a Fund would otherwise need to take in order to meet its investment objective can be obtained without unnecessarily impacting the financial or futures markets or their pricing, EFCRPs can generally be viewed as transactions beneficial to a Fund. A block trade is a technique that permits certain Funds to obtain a futures position without going through the market auction system and can generally be viewed as a transaction beneficial to the Fund.

Authorized Participants pay a fixed transaction fee of up to $250 in connection with each order to create or redeem a Creation Unit in order to compensate The Bank of New York Mellon (“BNY Mellon”), as the Administrator, the Custodian and the Transfer Agent of each Fund and its Shares, for services in processing the creation and redemption of Creation Units and to offset the costs of increasing or decreasing derivative positions. Authorized Participants also may pay a variable transaction fee to the Funds of up to 0.10% (and a variable transaction fee to the Matching VIX Funds of 0.05%) of the value of the Creation Unit that is purchased or redeemed unless the transaction fee is waived or otherwise adjusted by the Sponsor. The Sponsor provides such Authorized Participant with prompt notice in advance of any such waiver or adjustment of the transaction fee. Authorized Participants may sell the Shares included in the Creation Units they purchase from the Funds to other investors in the secondary market.

The form of Authorized Participant Agreement and the related Authorized Participant Handbook set forth the procedures for the creation and redemption of Creation Units and for the payment of cash required for such creations and redemptions. The Sponsor may delegate its duties and obligations under the form of Authorized Participant Agreement to SEI Investments Distribution Co. (“SEI”) or BNY Mellon, in its capacity as the Administrator, without consent from any shareholder or Authorized Participant. The form of Authorized Participant Agreement and the related procedures attached thereto may be amended by the Sponsor without the consent of any shareholder or Authorized Participant. Authorized Participants who purchase Creation Units from a Fund receive no fees, commissions or other form of compensation or inducement of any kind from either the Sponsor or the Fund, and no such person has any obligation or responsibility to the Sponsor or the Fund to affect any sale or resale of Shares.

Authorized Participants are cautioned that some of their activities may result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner which would render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”).

Each Authorized Participant must be registered as a broker-dealer under the 1934 Act and regulated by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), or exempt from being, or otherwise not required to be, so regulated or registered, and must be qualified to act as a broker or dealer in the states or other jurisdictions where the nature of its business so requires. Certain Authorized Participants may be regulated under federal and state banking laws and regulations. Each Authorized Participant must have its own set of rules and procedures, internal controls and information barriers as it determines is appropriate in light of its own regulatory regime.

Authorized Participants may act for their own accounts or as agents for broker-dealers, custodians and other securities market participants that wish to create or redeem Creation Units.

Persons interested in purchasing Creation Units should contact the Sponsor or the Administrator to obtain the contact information for the Authorized Participants. Shareholders who are not Authorized Participants are only able to redeem their Shares through an Authorized Participant.

Pursuant to the Authorized Participant Agreement, the Sponsor agreed to indemnify the Authorized Participants against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the 1933 Act, and to contribute to the payments the Authorized Participants may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.

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The following description of the procedures for the creation and redemption of Creation Units is only a summary and an investor should refer to the relevant provisions of the Amended and Restated Trust Agreement of the Trust, as may be further amended from time to time (the “Trust Agreement”) and the form of Authorized Participant Agreement for more detail. The Trust Agreement and the form of Authorized Participant Agreement are incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Creation Procedures

On any Business Day, an Authorized Participant may place an order with the Distributor to create one or more Creation Units. For purposes of processing both purchase and redemption orders, a “Business Day” for each Fund means any day on which the NAV of such Fund is determined. Purchase orders must be placed by the cut-off time shown below or earlier if the Fund’s primary listing exchange, or other exchange material to the valuation or operation of such Fund (an “Exchange” as defined below) closes before the cut-off time. If a purchase order is received prior to the applicable cut-off time, the day on which SEI receives a valid purchase order is the purchase order date. If the purchase order is received after the applicable cut-off time, the purchase order date will be the next day. Purchase orders are irrevocable. By placing a purchase order, and prior to delivery of such Creation Units, an Authorized Participant’s DTC account will be charged the non-refundable transaction fee due for the purchase order.

Determination of Required Payment

The total payment required to create each Creation Unit is the NAV of 50,000 Shares of the applicable Geared Fund or 25,000 Shares of the applicable Matching VIX Fund on the purchase order date plus the applicable transaction fee. For each Fund, Authorized Participants have create/redeem cut-off times prior to the NAV calculation time, which may be different from the close of the U.S. markets, as shown in the table below.

these times represent the final opportunity to transact in creation or redemption units for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Delivery of Cash

Cash required for settlement will typically be transferred to the Custodian through: (1) the Continuous Net Settlement (“CNS”) clearing process of the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”), as such processes have been enhanced to effect creations and redemptions of Creation Units; or (2) the facilities of DTC on a Delivery Versus Payment (“DVP”) basis, which is the procedure in which the buyer’s payment for securities is due at the time of delivery. Security delivery and payment are simultaneous. If the Custodian does not receive the cash by the market close on the first Business Day following the purchase order date (T+1), such order may be charged interest for delayed settlement or cancelled. The Sponsor reserves the right to extend the deadline for the Custodian to receive the cash required for settlement up to the second Business Day following the purchase order date (T+2). In the event a purchase order is cancelled, the Authorized Participant will be responsible for reimbursing the Fund for all costs associated with cancelling the order including costs for repositioning the portfolio. At its sole discretion, the Sponsor may agree to a delivery date other than T+2. Additional fees may apply for special settlement. The Creation Unit will be delivered to the Authorized Participant upon the Custodian’s receipt of the purchase amount.

Delivery of Exchange of Futures Contract for Related Position (“EFCRP”) Futures Contracts or Block Trades

In the event that the Sponsor shall have determined to permit the Authorized Participant to transfer futures contracts pursuant to an EFCRP or to engage in a block trade purchase of futures contracts from the Authorized Participant with respect to a Fund, as well as to deliver cash, in the creation process, futures contracts required for settlement must be transferred directly to the Fund’s account at its FCM. If the cash is not received by the market close on the second Business Day following the purchase order date (T+2); such order may be charged interest for delayed settlements or cancelled. In the event a purchase order is cancelled, the Authorized Participant will be responsible for reimbursing a Fund for all costs associated with cancelling the order including costs for repositioning the portfolio. At its sole discretion, the Sponsor may agree to a delivery date other than T+2. The Creation Unit will be delivered to the Authorized Participant upon the Custodian’s receipt of the cash purchase amount and the futures contracts.

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Suspension or Rejection of Purchase Orders

In respect of any Fund, the Sponsor may, in its discretion, suspend the right to purchase, or postpone the purchase settlement date, (1) for any period during which any of the NYSE, NYSE Arca, Cboe, CFE, CME (including CBOT and NYMEX) or ICE or other exchange material to the valuation or operation of the Funds (each, an “Exchange”) is closed or when trading is suspended or restricted on such exchanges in any of the underlying commodities; (2) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which the fulfillment of a purchase order is not reasonably practicable; or (3) for such other period as the Sponsor determines, in its sole discretion, to be appropriate for the protection of the Fund, the shareholders of the Fund or otherwise in the interest of such Fund (for example, in response to, or anticipation of, a period of significant and/or rapid increases in the size of a Fund as a result of an increase in creation activity. The Sponsor will not be liable to any person or in any way for any loss or damages that may result from any such suspension or postponement.

The Sponsor also may reject a purchase order if:

None of the Sponsor, the Administrator, the Transfer Agent, the Distributor or the Custodian will be liable for the suspension or rejection of any purchase order.

Redemption Procedures

The procedures by which an Authorized Participant may redeem one or more Creation Units mirror the procedures for the creation of Creation Units. On any Business Day, an Authorized Participant may place an order with the Distributor to redeem one or more Creation Units. If a redemption order is received prior to the applicable cut-off time, or earlier if the Exchange, or other exchange material to the valuation or operation of such Fund, closes before the cut-off time, the day on which SEI receives a valid redemption order is the redemption order date. If the redemption order is received after the applicable cut-off time, the redemption order date will be the next day. Redemption orders are irrevocable. The redemption procedures allow Authorized Participants to redeem Creation Units. Individual shareholders may not redeem directly from a Fund.

By placing a redemption order, an Authorized Participant agrees to deliver the Creation Units to be redeemed through DTC’s book-entry system to the applicable Fund not later than noon (Eastern Time), on the first Business Day immediately following the redemption order date (T+1). The Sponsor reserves the right to extend the deadline for the Fund to receive the Creation Units required for settlement up to the second Business Day following the redemption order date (T+2). By placing a redemption order, and prior to receipt of the redemption proceeds, an Authorized Participant must wire to the Custodian the non-refundable transaction fee due for the redemption order or any proceeds due will be reduced by the amount of the fee payable. At its sole discretion, the Sponsor may agree to a delivery date other than T+2. Additional fees may apply for special settlement.

Upon request of an Authorized Participant made at the time of a redemption order, the Sponsor at its sole discretion may determine, in addition to delivering redemption proceeds, to transfer futures contracts to the Authorized Participant pursuant to an EFCRP or to a block trade sale of futures contracts to the Authorized Participant.

Determination of Redemption Proceeds

The redemption proceeds from a Fund consist of the cash redemption amount and, if permitted by the Sponsor in its sole discretion with respect to a Fund, an EFCRP or block trade with the relevant Fund, as described in “Creation and Redemption of Shares” above. The cash redemption amount is equal to the NAV of the number of Creation Unit(s) of such Fund requested in the Authorized Participant’s redemption order as of the time of the calculation of such Fund’s NAV on the redemption order date, less transaction fees and any amounts attributable to any applicable EFCRP or block trade.

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Delivery of Redemption Proceeds

The redemption proceeds due from a Fund are delivered to the Authorized Participant at noon (Eastern Time), on the second Business Day immediately following the redemption order date if, by such time on such Business Day immediately following the redemption order date, a Fund’s DTC account has been credited with the Creation Units to be redeemed. The Fund should be credited through: (1) the CNS clearing process of NSCC, as such processes have been enhanced to effect creations and redemptions of Creation Units; or (2) the facilities of DTC on a Delivery Versus Payment basis. If a Fund’s DTC account has not been credited with all of the Creation Units to be redeemed by such time, the redemption distribution is delivered to the extent whole Creation Units are received. Any remainder of the redemption distribution is delivered on the next Business Day to the extent any remaining whole Creation Units are received if: (1) the Sponsor receives the fee applicable to the extension of the redemption distribution date which the Sponsor may, from time to time, determine, and; (2) the remaining Creation Units to be redeemed are credited to the Fund’s DTC account by noon (Eastern Time), on such next Business Day. Any further outstanding amount of the redemption order may be cancelled. The Authorized Participant will be responsible for reimbursing a Fund for all costs associated with cancelling the order including costs for repositioning the portfolio.

The Sponsor is also authorized to deliver the redemption distribution notwithstanding that the Creation Units to be redeemed are not credited to a Fund’s DTC account by noon (Eastern Time), on the second Business Day immediately following the redemption order date if the Authorized Participant has collateralized its obligation to deliver the Creation Units through DTC’s book-entry system on such terms as the Sponsor may determine from time-to-time.

In the event that the Authorized Participant shall have requested, and the Sponsor shall have determined to permit the Authorized Participant to receive futures contracts pursuant to an EFCRP, as well as the cash redemption proceeds, in the redemption process, futures contracts required for settlement shall be transferred directly from the Fund’s account at its FCM to the account of the Authorized Participant at its FCM.

Suspension or Rejection of Redemption Orders

In respect of any Fund, the Sponsor may, in its discretion, suspend the right of redemption, or postpone the redemption settlement date: (1) for any period during which any Exchange, or other exchange material to the valuation or operation of the Fund, is closed or when trading is suspended or restricted on such Exchanges in any of the underlying commodities; (2) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which the redemption distribution is not reasonably practicable; or (3) for such other period as the Sponsor determines to be necessary for the protection of the shareholders. The Sponsor will not be liable to any person or in any way for any loss or damages that may result from any such suspension or postponement.

The Sponsor will reject a redemption order if the order is not in proper form as described in the form of Authorized Participant Agreement or if the fulfillment of the order might be unlawful.

Creation and Redemption Transaction Fee

To compensate BNY Mellon for services in processing the creation and redemption of Creation Units and to offset some or all of the transaction costs, an Authorized Participant may be required to pay a fixed transaction fee to BNY Mellon of up to $250 per order to create or redeem Creation Units and may pay a variable transaction fee to a Fund of up to 0.10% (and a variable transaction fee to the Matching VIX Funds of 0.05%) of the value of a Creation Unit. An order may include multiple Creation Units. The transaction fee(s) may be reduced, increased or otherwise changed by the Sponsor at its sole discretion.

Special Settlement

The Sponsor may allow for early settlement of purchase or redemption orders. Such arrangements may result in additional charges to the Authorized Participant.

NAV

The NAV in respect of a Fund means the total assets of the Fund including, but not limited to, all cash and cash equivalents or other debt securities less total liabilities of such Fund, consistently applied under the accrual method of accounting. In particular, the NAV includes any unrealized profit or loss on open Financial Instruments, and any other credit or debit accruing to a Fund but unpaid or not received by a Fund. The NAV per Share of each Fund is computed by dividing the value of the net assets of such Fund (i.e., the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by its total number of Shares outstanding. Expenses and fees are accrued daily and taken into account for purposes of determining the NAV. Each Fund’s NAV is calculated on each day other than a day when the Exchange is closed for regular trading. The Funds compute their NAVs at the times set forth below, or an earlier time as set forth on www.ProShares.com if necessitated by the Exchange or other exchange material to the valuation or operation of such Fund closing early. Each Fund’s NAV is calculated only once each trading day.

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In calculating the NAV of a Fund, the settlement value of the Fund’s non-exchange traded Financial Instruments, is determined by applying the then-current disseminated value for the corresponding benchmark to the terms of such Fund’s non-exchange traded Financial Instruments. However, in the event that an underlying reference asset is not trading due to the operation of daily limits or otherwise, the Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, choose to fair value the Fund’s non-exchange traded Financial Instruments for purposes of the NAV calculation. Such fair value prices would generally be determined based on available inputs about the current value of the underlying reference assets and would be based on principles that the Sponsor deems fair and equitable so long as such principles are consistent with normal industry standards.

Futures contracts traded on a U.S. exchange are calculated at their then-current market value, which is based upon the settlement price (for the VIX Funds and the Commodity Index Funds) or the last traded price before the NAV time (for the Currency Funds), for that particular futures contract traded on the applicable U.S. exchange on the date with respect to which the NAV is being determined. If a futures contract traded on a U.S. exchange could not be liquidated on such day, due to the operation of daily limits or other rules of the exchange upon which that position is traded or otherwise, the Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, choose to determine a fair value price as the basis for determining the market value of such position for such day.

In addition, the Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, choose to fair value a Fund’s Financial Instruments for purposes of the NAV calculation for (1) any period for which, in the Sponsor’s sole discretion, market quotations or settlement prices do not accurately reflect the fair value of a Financial Instrument, (2) any period during which the Exchange or any other exchange, marketplace or trading center, deemed to affect the normal operations of the Funds, is closed, or when trading is restricted or suspended, or (3) such other period as the Sponsor determines, in its sole discretion, to be necessary for the protection of the Shareholders of the Funds.

Such fair value prices would generally be determined based on available inputs about the current value of the underlying reference assets and would be based on principles that the Sponsor deems fair and equitable so long as such principles are consistent with normal industry standards.

The Funds may use a variety of money market instruments to invest excess cash. Money Market instruments used in this capacity are valued at amortized cost which approximates fair value for daily NAV purposes.

Indicative Optimized Portfolio Value (“IOPV”)

The IOPV is an indicator of the value of a Fund’s net assets at the time the IOPV is disseminated. The IOPV is calculated and disseminated every 15 seconds throughout the trading day. The IOPV is generally calculated using the prior day’s closing net assets of a Fund as a base and updating throughout the trading day changes in the value of the Financial Instruments held by a Fund. The IOPV should not be viewed as an actual real time update of the NAV because NAV is calculated only once at the end of each trading day. The IOPV also should not be viewed as a precise value of the Shares. Neither the Funds nor the Sponsor are liable for any errors in the calculation of the IOPV or any failure to disseminate IOPV.

The Fund’s primary listing exchange disseminates the IOPV. In addition, the IOPV is published on the Fund’s primary listing exchange’s website and is available through on- line information services such as Bloomberg Finance L.P. and/or Reuters.

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Fees and Expenses

Offering Expenses

Offering costs will be amortized by the Funds over a twelve month period on a straight-line basis beginning once the fund commences operations. The Sponsor will not charge its Management Fee in the first year of operations of a Fund in an amount equal to the offering costs. Normal and expected expenses incurred in connection with the continuous offering of Shares of a Fund after the commencement of its trading operations will be paid by the Sponsor.

Offering expenses mean those expenses incurred in connection with the qualification and registration of the Shares of each Fund and in offering, distributing and processing the Shares of each Fund under applicable federal law, and any other expenses actually incurred and, directly or indirectly, related to the organization of each offering of the Shares of such Fund, including, but not limited to, expenses such as:

Management Fee

Each Geared Fund pays the Sponsor a Management Fee, monthly in arrears, in an amount equal to 0.95% per annum of its average daily NAV of such Fund. Each Matching VIX Fund pays the Sponsor a Management Fee, monthly in arrears, in an amount equal to 0.85% per annum of its average daily NAV. No other management fee is paid by the Funds. The Management Fee is paid in consideration of the Sponsor’s trading advisory services and the other services provided to the Funds that the Sponsor pays directly.

Licensing Fee

The Sponsor pays S&P a licensing fee for use of the VIX Futures Indexes as the benchmarks for the VIX Funds. The Sponsor pays Bloomberg a licensing fee for the Bloomberg Commodity Index^SM, as well as each subindex that serves as a benchmark for a Commodity Index Fund.

Routine Operational, Administrative and Other Ordinary Expenses

The Sponsor pays all of the routine operational, administrative and other ordinary expenses of each Fund, generally, as determined by the Sponsor, including, but not limited to, fees and expenses of the Administrator, Custodian, Distributor, ProFunds Distributors, Inc., an affiliated broker-dealer of the Sponsor, and Transfer Agent, licensing fees, accounting and audit fees and expenses, tax preparation expenses, legal fees not in excess of $100,000 per annum, ongoing SEC registration fees not exceeding 0.021% per annum of the NAV of a Fund, FINRA filing fees, individual K-1 preparation and mailing fees not exceeding 0.10% per annum of the NAV of a Fund, and report preparation and mailing expenses.

Non-Recurring Fees and Expenses

Each Fund pays all of its non-recurring and unusual fees and expenses, if any, as determined by the Sponsor. Non-recurring and unusual fees and expenses are fees and expenses that are unexpected or unusual in nature, such as legal claims and liabilities, litigation costs or indemnification or other material expenses which are not currently anticipated obligations of the Funds. Routine operational, administrative and other ordinary expenses are not deemed extraordinary expenses.

Selling Commission

Retail investors may purchase and sell Shares through traditional brokerage accounts. Investors are expected to be charged a customary commission by their brokers in connection with purchases of Shares that will vary from investor to investor. Investors are encouraged to review the terms of their brokerage accounts for applicable charges. The price at which an Authorized Participant sells a Share may be higher or lower than the price paid by such Authorized Participant in connection with the creation of such Share in a Creation Unit.

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Brokerage Commissions and Fees

Each Fund pays its respective brokerage commissions, including applicable exchange fees, NFA fees and give-up fees, pit brokerage fees and other transaction related fees and expenses charged in connection with trading activities for each Fund’s investments in CFTC regulated investments. The Sponsor is currently paying brokerage commissions on VIX futures contracts for the Matching VIX Funds in amounts that exceed variable create/redeem fees collected by more than 0.02% of the Matching VIX Fund’s average net assets annually.

Other Transaction Costs

The Funds bear other transaction costs including the effects of trading spreads and financing costs/fees, if any, associated with the use of Financial Instruments, and costs relating to the purchase of U.S. Treasury securities or similar high credit quality short-term fixed- income or similar securities (such as shares of money market funds and collateralized repurchase agreements).

Employees

The Trust has no employees.

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

RISK FACTOR SUMMARY

Risks Specific to the Geared Funds

Risks Specific to the Currency Funds, Precious Metals Funds, Natural Gas Funds, and Oil Funds

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Risks Specific to the VIX Funds

Risks Related to All Funds

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These risk factors should be read in connection with the other information included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and the Funds’ Financial Statements and the related Notes to the Funds’ Financial Statements. For purposes of this section:

Risks Specific to the Geared Funds

In addition to the risks described elsewhere in this “Risk Factors” section, the following risks apply to the Geared Funds.

The performance of a Geared Fund for periods longer than a single day will likely differ from the Daily Target and investors holding shares for longer than a day should understand the impact of benchmark returns and volatility (how much the value of the benchmark moves up and down from day-to-day) on their holding period return.

Each of the Geared Funds is “geared” in the sense that each has an investment objective to correspond, before fees and expenses, to the one-half inverse (e.g., -0.5x), an inverse multiple (e.g., -2x), or a multiple (e.g., 1.5x, 2x), of the performance of a benchmark on a given day (referred to as the “Daily Target”). Each Geared Fund seeks investment results for a single day only, as measured from its NAV calculation time to its next NAV calculation time, and not for any other period. The return of a Geared Fund for a period longer than a single day is the result of its return for each day compounded over the period and usually will differ from one-half inverse (e.g., -0.5x), one and one-half times (1.5x), two times the inverse (-2x) or two times (2x) the return of the Geared Fund’s benchmark for the period. A Geared Fund will lose money if its benchmark’s performance is flat over time, and it is possible for a Geared Fund to lose money over time regardless of the performance of an underlying benchmark, as a result of daily rebalancing, the benchmark’s volatility and compounding. Longer holding periods, higher benchmark volatility, inverse exposure and greater leverage each affect the impact of compounding on a Geared Fund’s returns. Daily compounding of a Geared Fund’s investment returns can dramatically and adversely affect its longer-term performance during periods of high volatility. Volatility may be at least as important to a Geared Fund’s return for a period as the return of the Geared Fund’s underlying benchmark.

A Geared Fund will lose money if the Index’s performance is flat over time, and it is possible for a Geared Fund to lose money over time regardless of the performance of the Index, as a result of daily rebalancing, the Index’s volatility, compounding and other factors. Longer holding periods, higher index volatility, inverse exposure and greater leverage each affect the impact of compounding on a Geared Fund’s returns. Daily compounding of a Geared Fund’s investment returns can dramatically and adversely affect performance, especially during periods of high volatility. Volatility has a negative impact on Geared Fund performance and the volatility of the Index may be at least as important to a Geared Fund’s return for a period as the return of the Index.

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Each Ultra or UltraShort Fund uses leverage and should produce daily returns that are more volatile than that of its benchmark. For example, the daily return of an Ultra Fund with a 2x multiple should be approximately two times as volatile on a daily basis as the return of a fund with an objective of matching the same benchmark. The daily return of an Ultra Fund with a 1.5x multiple should be approximately one and one-half times as volatile on a daily basis as the return of a fund with an objective of matching the same benchmark. The daily return of a Short Fund is designed to return one-half the inverse (-0.5x) of the return, that would be expected of a fund with an objective of matching the same benchmark. The Geared Funds are not appropriate for all investors and present different risks than other funds. The daily return of an UltraShort Fund is designed to return two times the inverse (-2x) of the return, respectively, that would be expected of a fund with an objective of matching the same benchmark. The Geared Funds that use leverage are riskier than similarly benchmarked exchange-traded funds that do not use leverage. An investor should only consider an investment in a Geared Fund if he or she understands the consequences of seeking daily leveraged, daily inverse or daily inverse leveraged investment results. Daily objective geared funds, if used properly and in conjunction with the investor’s view on the future direction and volatility of the markets, can be useful tools for investors who want to manage their exposure to various markets and market segments and who are willing to monitor and/or periodically rebalance their portfolios. Shareholders who invest in the Geared Funds should actively manage and monitor their investments, as frequently as daily.

The hypothetical examples below illustrate how daily Geared Fund returns can behave for periods longer than a single day. On each day, fund XYZ performs in line with its objective (two times (2x) the benchmark’s daily performance before fees and expenses). Notice that, in the first example (showing an overall benchmark loss for the period), over the entire seven-day period, the fund’s total return is more than two times the loss of the period return of the benchmark. For the seven-day period, benchmark XYZ lost 3.26% while fund XYZ lost 7.01% (versus -6.52% or 2 x -3.26%). In other scenarios, the return of a daily rebalanced fund could be greater than three times the benchmark’s returns.

Similarly, in another example (showing an overall benchmark gain for the period), over the entire seven-day period, the fund’s total return is considerably less than double that of the period return of the benchmark. For the seven-day period, benchmark XYZ gained 2.72% while fund XYZ gained 4.86% (versus 5.44% (or 2 x 2.72%)).

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This effect is caused by compounding, which exists in all investments. The return of a Geared Fund for a period longer than a single day is the result of its return for each day compounded over the period and usually will differ in amount, and possibly even direction, from the Geared Fund’s stated multiple times the return of the Geared Fund’s benchmark for the same period. In general, during periods of higher benchmark volatility, compounding will cause the longer term results to be less than the multiple (or inverse multiple) of the return of the benchmark. This effect becomes more pronounced as volatility increases. Conversely, in periods of lower benchmark volatility, returns over longer periods can be higher than the multiple of the return of the benchmark. Actual results for a particular period, before fees and expenses, are also dependent on the following factors: (a) the benchmark’s volatility; (b) the benchmark’s performance; (c) period of time; (d) financing rates associated with derivatives; (e) other Fund expenses; and (f) dividends or interest paid with respect to the securities in the benchmark. The examples herein illustrate the impact of two principal factors- benchmark volatility and benchmark performance – on Fund performance. Similar effects exist for the Short Fund and UltraShort Funds, and the significance of this effect is even greater for such inverse leveraged funds.

The graphs that follow illustrate this point. Each of the graphs shows a simulated hypothetical one-year performance of a benchmark compared with the performance of a Geared Fund that perfectly achieves its daily investment objective. The graphs demonstrate that, for periods greater than a single day, a Geared Fund is likely to underperform or overperform (but not match) the benchmark performance (or the inverse of the benchmark performance) times the stated multiple in the fund’s investment objective. Investors should understand the consequences of holding daily rebalanced funds for periods longer than a single day, including the impact of compounding on fund performance. Investors should consider actively monitoring and/or periodically rebalancing their portfolios (which will possibly trigger transaction costs and tax consequences) in light of their investment goals and risk tolerance. A one-year period is used solely for illustrative purposes only. Deviations from the benchmark return times the fund multiple can occur over periods as short as a single day (as measured from one day’s NAV to the next day’s NAV) and may also occur in periods shorter than a single day (when measured intraday as opposed to NAV to NAV). An investor in a Geared Fund could potentially lose the full value of their investment within a single day. See “Intraday Price Performance Risk” below for additional details.

To isolate the impact of daily leveraged, inverse or inverse leveraged exposure, these graphs assume: a) no fund expenses or transaction costs; b) borrowing/lending rates (to obtain required inverse, inverse leveraged or leveraged exposure) and cash reinvestment rates of zero percent; and c) the fund consistently maintaining perfect exposure (-0.5x, -2x, 1.5x, or 2x) as of the fund’s NAV time each day. If these assumptions were different, the fund’s performance would be different than that shown. If fund expenses, transaction costs and financing expenses greater than zero percent were included, the fund’s performance would also be different than that shown. The -0.5x and 1.5x graphs below assume a volatility rate of 73%, which is an approximate average of the five-year historical volatility rate of the most volatile benchmark referenced herein (the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index) for funds with these multiples. The -2x and 2x graphs below assume a volatility rate of 57%, which is an approximate average of the five-year historical volatility rate of the most volatile benchmark referenced herein (the Bloomberg Natural Gas Subindex) for funds with these multiples. A benchmark’s volatility rate is a statistical measure of the magnitude of fluctuations in its returns.

The graph above shows a scenario where the index, which exhibits day-to-day volatility, is flat or trendless over the year (i.e., begins and ends the year at 0%), but the Short Fund (-0.5x) is down.

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The graph above shows a scenario where the benchmark, which exhibits day-to-day volatility, is up over the year, but the Short Fund (-0.5x) is down more than one-half the inverse of the benchmark.

The graph above shows a scenario where the benchmark, which exhibits day-to-day volatility, is down over the year, but the Short Fund (-0.5x) is up less than one-half the inverse of the benchmark.

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The graph above shows a scenario where the index, which exhibits day-to-day volatility, is flat or trendless over the year (i.e., begins and ends the year at 0%), but the Ultra Fund (1.5x) is down.

The graph above shows a scenario where the index, which exhibits day-to-day volatility, is up over the year, but the Ultra Fund (1.5x) is up less than one and one-half times the index.

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The graph above shows a scenario where the index, which exhibits day-to-day volatility, is down over the year, but the Ultra Fund (1.5x) is down less than one and one-half times the index.

The graph above shows a scenario where the benchmark, which exhibits day-to-day volatility, is flat or trendless over the year (i.e., provides a return of 0% over the course of the year), but the Ultra Fund (2x) and the UltraShort Fund (-2x) are both down.

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The graph above shows a scenario where the benchmark, which exhibits day-to-day volatility, is up over the year, but the Ultra Fund (2x) is up less than two times the benchmark and the UltraShort Fund (-2x) is down less than two times the inverse of the benchmark.

The graph above shows a scenario where the benchmark, which exhibits day-to-day volatility, is down over the year, but the Ultra Fund (2x) is down less than two times the benchmark and the UltraShort Fund (-2x) is up less than two times the inverse of the benchmark.

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The historical five year average volatility of the benchmarks utilized by the Funds ranges from 7.26% to 73.04%, as set forth in the table below.

The tables below illustrate the impact of two factors that affect a Geared Fund’s performance, benchmark volatility and benchmark return. Benchmark volatility is a statistical measure of the magnitude of fluctuations in the returns of a benchmark and is calculated as the standard deviation of the natural logarithms of one plus the benchmark return (calculated daily), multiplied by the square root of the number of trading days per year (assumed to be 252). The tables show estimated fund returns for a number of combinations of benchmark volatility and benchmark return over a one-year period. To isolate the impact of daily leveraged, inverse or inverse leveraged exposure, these graphs assume: a) no fund expenses or transaction costs; b) borrowing/lending rates of zero percent (to obtain required inverse, inverse leveraged or leveraged exposure) and cash reinvestment rates of zero percent; and c) the fund consistently maintaining perfect exposure (-0.5x, -2x, 1.5x, or 2x) as of the fund’s NAV time each day. If these assumptions were different, the fund’s performance would be different than that shown. If fund expenses, transaction costs and financing expenses were included, the fund’s performance would be different than that shown. The tables below show examples in which a Geared Fund has an investment objective to correspond, before fees and expenses, to one-half the inverse (-0.5x), two times the inverse (-2x), two times (2x), one and one-half times (1.5x) the daily performance of a benchmark. The Geared Fund that has an investment objective to correspond to two times (2x) the daily performance of a benchmark could incorrectly be expected to achieve a 20% return on a yearly basis if the benchmark return was 10%, absent the effects of compounding. However, as the tables below show, with a benchmark volatility of 40%, such a fund would return 3.1 %. In the charts below, shaded areas represent those scenarios where a geared fund with the investment objective described will outperform (i.e., return more than) the benchmark performance times the stated multiple in the fund’s investment objective; conversely areas not shaded represent those scenarios where the fund will underperform (i.e., return less than) the benchmark performance times the multiple stated as the daily fund objective.

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Estimated Fund Return Over One Year When the Fund Objective is to Seek Daily Investment Results For a single day, Before Fees and Expenses, that Correspond to One-Half the Inverse (-0.5x) of the Daily Performance of an Index.

Estimated Fund Return Over One Year When the Fund Objective is to Seek Daily Investment Results, Before Fees and Expenses, that Correspond to Two Times the Inverse (-2x) of the Daily Performance of a Benchmark.

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Estimated Fund Return Over One Year When the Fund Objective is to Seek Daily Investment Results For a single day, Before Fees and Expenses, that Correspond to One and One-Half Times (1.5x) the Daily Performance of an Index.