KORU vs. NUGT

Last updated Apr 2, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about Direxion Daily South Korea Bull 3X Shares (KORU) and Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 2X Shares (NUGT).

KORU and NUGT are both exchange-traded funds (ETFs), meaning they are traded on stock exchanges and can be bought and sold throughout the day. KORU is a passively managed fund by Direxion that tracks the performance of the MSCI Korea 25-50 Index. It was launched on Apr 10, 2013. NUGT is a passively managed fund by Direxion that tracks the performance of the NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index (300%). It was launched on Apr 1, 2020. Both KORU and NUGT are passive ETFs, meaning that they are not actively managed but aim to replicate the performance of the underlying index as closely as possible.

Performance

KORU vs. NUGT - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in Direxion Daily South Korea Bull 3X Shares (KORU) and Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 2X Shares (NUGT). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

KORU vs. NUGT - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
KORU Direxion Daily South Korea Bull 3X Shares	68.52%	432.73%	-62.18%	28.61%	-70.16%	-33.86%	48.78%	5.47%	-59.89%	167.08%
NUGT Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 2X Shares	11.72%	425.05%	2.89%	2.60%	-32.10%	-26.31%	-60.16%	100.73%	-44.52%	3.73%

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, KORU achieves a 68.52% return, which is significantly higher than NUGT's 11.72% return. Over the past 10 years, KORU has outperformed NUGT with an annualized return of 3.68%, while NUGT has yielded a comparatively lower -0.92% annualized return.

KORU

• 1D: 7.69%
• 1M: -47.68%
• YTD: 68.52%
• 6M: 174.68%
• 1Y: 673.62%
• 3Y*: 54.87%
• 5Y*: -4.56%
• 10Y*: 3.68%

NUGT

• 1D: 8.90%
• 1M: -33.79%
• YTD: 11.72%
• 6M: 30.46%
• 1Y: 233.84%
• 3Y*: 71.95%
• 5Y*: 29.87%
• 10Y*: -0.92%

*Multi-year figures are annualized to reflect compound growth (CAGR)

KORU vs. NUGT - Expense Ratio Comparison

KORU has a 1.29% expense ratio, which is higher than NUGT's 1.23% expense ratio.

KORU

Direxion Daily South Korea Bull 3X Shares

NUGT

Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 2X Shares

Return for Risk

KORU vs. NUGT — Risk / Return Rank

Compare risk-adjusted metric ranks to identify better-performing investments over the past 12 months.

KORU

KORU Risk / Return Rank: 98
KORU Sharpe Ratio Rank: 99
KORU Sortino Ratio Rank: 97
KORU Omega Ratio Rank: 96
KORU Calmar Ratio Rank: 99
KORU Martin Ratio Rank: 98

NUGT

NUGT Risk / Return Rank: 92
NUGT Sharpe Ratio Rank: 96
NUGT Sortino Ratio Rank: 88
NUGT Omega Ratio Rank: 88
NUGT Calmar Ratio Rank: 95
NUGT Martin Ratio Rank: 93

The rank (0–100) shows how this investment's returns compare to the risk taken. Higher = better. Based on the past 12 months of data, combining Sharpe, Sortino, and other metrics used by quantitative funds and institutional investors.

KORU vs. NUGT - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for Direxion Daily South Korea Bull 3X Shares (KORU) and Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 2X Shares (NUGT). Risk-adjusted metrics are performance indicators that assess an investment's returns in relation to its risk, enabling a more accurate comparison of different investment options.

	KORU	NUGT	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	6.40	2.57	+3.83
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	3.79	2.51	+1.29
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	1.54	1.37	+0.17
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	11.58	4.31	+7.27
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	41.52	13.80	+27.72
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

KORU vs. NUGT - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current KORU Sharpe Ratio is 6.40, which is higher than the NUGT Sharpe Ratio of 2.57. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of KORU and NUGT, offering insights into how both investments have performed under varying market conditions. These values are calculated using daily returns over the previous 12 months.

Sharpe Ratios by Period

	KORU	NUGT	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	6.40	2.57	+3.83
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	-0.06	0.42	-0.48
Sharpe Ratio (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period	0.05	-0.01	+0.06
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	-0.02	-0.32	+0.30

Correlation

The correlation between KORU and NUGT is 0.23, which is considered to be low. This implies their price changes are not closely related. A low correlation is generally favorable for portfolio diversification, as it helps to reduce overall risk by spreading it across multiple assets with different performance patterns.

Dividends

KORU vs. NUGT - Dividend Comparison

KORU's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 0.55%, more than NUGT's 0.27% yield.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
KORU Direxion Daily South Korea Bull 3X Shares	0.55%	0.89%	4.10%	2.55%	0.48%	0.76%	0.01%	0.93%	1.40%	3.59%
NUGT Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 2X Shares	0.27%	0.22%	1.79%	1.67%	0.70%	0.00%	0.00%	0.63%	0.57%	0.00%

Drawdowns

KORU vs. NUGT - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum KORU drawdown since its inception was -95.79%, roughly equal to the maximum NUGT drawdown of -99.97%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for KORU and NUGT.

Drawdown Indicators

	KORU	NUGT	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-95.79%	-99.97%	+4.18%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-61.39%	-53.58%	-7.81%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	-93.54%	-73.79%	-19.75%
Max Drawdown (10Y) Largest decline over 10 years	-95.79%	-96.91%	+1.12%
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-53.60%	-99.74%	+46.14%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-58.03%	-91.43%	+33.40%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	17.13%	16.75%	+0.38%

Volatility

KORU vs. NUGT - Volatility Comparison

Direxion Daily South Korea Bull 3X Shares (KORU) has a higher volatility of 59.12% compared to Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 2X Shares (NUGT) at 33.96%. This indicates that KORU's price experiences larger fluctuations and is considered to be riskier than NUGT based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	KORU	NUGT	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	59.12%	33.96%	+25.16%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	93.35%	77.66%	+15.69%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	106.33%	91.60%	+14.73%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	78.49%	70.75%	+7.74%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	76.33%	89.98%	-13.65%