KORU's 274 Percent YTD Gain Looks Stunning Until You See How Fast Daily Resets Can Reverse It

KORU is designed to express a short-term bullish view on Korean equities using leverage. The fund targets three times the daily return of the MSCI Korea 25/50 Index, with “daily” being central to its behavior. It holds most assets in the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF and the remainder in US dollar instruments, then uses swap contracts to achieve leverage. Each afternoon it rebalances swaps so the next morning starts at 3x exposure. This daily reset can amplify volatility, allowing large losses even when underlying stocks finish flat. Reported performance shows very large gains over short periods alongside sharp drawdowns during volatile sessions.

"KORU exists to solve a narrow problem, which is how to express a short-term bullish bet on Korean equities with borrowed firepower. The fund is wired to deliver three times the daily return of the MSCI Korea 25/50 Index, and that word, daily, is doing almost all the work."

"Under the hood, KORU holds roughly 78.53% of its book in the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF ( NYSEARCA:EWY | EWY Price Prediction) with the remaining 21.47% in US dollar instruments, then uses swap contracts to lever that exposure. The expense ratio is 1.18% and assets under management sit near $1.2 billion."

"Every afternoon, the fund rebalances its swap book so that the next morning starts fresh at 3x exposure. That reset is the entire reason KORU can produce a 1,500% number, and also the reason a buyer at today's price can lose most of it in a few choppy weeks even if Korean stocks finish flat."

"Compounding cuts both ways. On a single session in March 2026, KORU fell 27.83% while EWY, the 1x Korea ETF, lost 8.66%, more than three times the underlying drawdown because daily resets punish volatility."

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