Just tread carefully as I have used them both previously and you need to have a good plan upfront! I was doing ok but the rapid turnaround after COVID which was quicker and stronger than expected quickly bit hard. It worked exactly as advertised but moves quickly both ways! I used the BBOZ and BBwhatever the US one is!

+1 from me too. Initially did very well

out of a timely purchase of both of these ETFs. And then didn’t. Ended up down 5 figures thinking I was clever. I wasn’t.

it’s not an original observation but over the course of any long enough time period the market keeps going up. So you’re essentially saying that you can time the downs.

not for me.

You could maybe use it as a hedge... Like, a smallish piece of a portfolio to allow you to buy cheaper stocks if there is a crash or something. The problem is you never know when the market is going to crash, so you lose money until that happens. I think I'd rather keep my money in something like Cash, bonds, silver, gold, etc.

A suggestion I have if you really want to try and time the market is set a time limit on how long you hold it for. It's essentially a guarantee that you will lose money over any decent time period. Early is the same as wrong. Wrong with leverage is even worse.

I got burnt by BBOZ during the Covid wreck. Second leg down that never came. One thing about the inverse ETFs is the substantial slippage over time. If your thesis doesn't play out and you hold for any substantial length you are almost guaranteed to lose money.

Thank you all for your valuable experiences!

Definitely will not be looking to 'invest' in a BEAR etf. Only as a hedge product..... in case the 90% vaccinated rate does not prevent the next iteration of COVID. And/or when masses of people begin to claim workers compensation on covid downtime (one case successful already) - may shake the markets up a little.

In the early days there was an eclectic mix of LICs available, but not may, now all Australian LICs appear to have been added. ETF's is a different story. Apart from STW I can't find any other ETFs on Strawman.com. Not even VAS, one of the most popular ETFs. I could understand if there were no ETFs available. Not ideal, but still understandable if it's a cost issue. However, why have STW included yet no others (or possibly very few others - but I haven't found them yet) ? Strange!

STW & SLF. Any more?

"but not may" below should read "but not many"