Ochotona - a valid concern under extreme volatility.  I have studied these leveraged ETFs quite extensively and not all leveraged etfs are created the same - see http://seekingalpha.com/article/2966666-monthly-annual-upro-gains-map-almost-perfectly-to-the-s-and-p-500 for example.  I have had similar...

I do "speculate" with the PP concept with about 10% of my portfolio.  I use leveraged ETFs for Stocks (SPXL) Bonds (TMF) and Gold (UGLD).  I still get the correlation benefits which reduces volatility significantly from what you would normally experience with a 3X portfolio.  Doing well, b...