What Is SHNY? MicroSectors Gold 3X Leveraged ETN
Short answer
SHNY is the MicroSectors Gold 3X Leveraged ETN, an exchange-traded note from Bank of Montreal that aims to return three times the daily price move of gold (via the SPDR Gold Shares Trust). It is a leveraged, daily-reset product built for short-term trading, not long-term holding.
SHNY is issued by Bank of Montreal (BMO), under the MicroSectors brand and tracks Seeks 3x (300%) of the daily performance of the price of gold, tracking the SPDR Gold Shares Trust (GLD), which holds physical gold bullion. Exposure is reset daily, so the 3x objective applies to a single trading day, not to longer holding periods.. It charges a 0.95% expense ratio, holds approximately approximately $100 million to $150 million (approximate; varies with gold prices and note flows) in assets under management, yields about 0% (as an ETN, SHNY does not pay dividends), and launched in February 21, 2023.
What is SHNY?
SHNY is the MicroSectors Gold 3X Leveraged ETN, an exchange-traded note from Bank of Montreal that aims to return three times the daily price move of gold (via the SPDR Gold Shares Trust). It is a leveraged, daily-reset product built for short-term trading, not long-term holding.
SHNY is issued by Bank of Montreal (BMO), under the MicroSectors brand and tracks Seeks 3x (300%) of the daily performance of the price of gold, tracking the SPDR Gold Shares Trust (GLD), which holds physical gold bullion. Exposure is reset daily, so the 3x objective applies to a single trading day, not to longer holding periods., so a single ticker gives you the whole basket of underlying holdings weighted by the index's methodology rather than by any active stock-picking.
SHNY holdings: what's actually inside
SHNY does not hold a basket of individual stocks. It gets its exposure synthetically, through derivatives such as swaps and futures rather than by owning the underlying shares, so there is no conventional top-10 equity holdings list. See the description above for what SHNY actually tracks and how that exposure is built.
The bottom line on SHNY
SHNY is a high-risk, leveraged trading instrument, not a way to own gold for the long run. Its 3x leverage resets daily, so returns can decay and diverge sharply from gold over time, and because it is an ETN it also carries the credit risk of Bank of Montreal. It may suit experienced traders making short-term tactical bets on gold, but is generally unsuitable for buy-and-hold investors. Walnut is informational and not investment advice.
More on SHNY
Whether SHNY is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, concentration, and what would have to be true for it to outperform from here in is SHNY a buy?
SHNY yields 0% (as an ETN, SHNY does not pay dividends) as of early 2026, paid by passing through the dividends of its underlying holdings. For the payout schedule, history, and how the distributions are taxed, see SHNY dividend: yield and schedule.
Build a portfolio around SHNY with Walnut
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FAQ
What is SHNY?
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SHNY is the MicroSectors Gold 3X Leveraged ETN, issued by Bank of Montreal under the MicroSectors brand. It is an exchange-traded note that seeks three times the daily performance of the price of gold, tracked through the SPDR Gold Shares Trust. It trades on NYSE Arca and is designed for short-term tactical trading.
What is SHNY's expense ratio?
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SHNY has an expense ratio of approximately 0.95%. That is the annual cost of holding the note, and for a leveraged daily-reset product it is in addition to the financing and rebalancing costs embedded in maintaining 3x exposure, which can add up the longer you hold it.
What does SHNY track?
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SHNY tracks three times the daily price movement of gold, measured by the performance of the SPDR Gold Shares Trust (GLD), which is backed by physical gold bullion. The 3x objective applies to one trading day at a time, because the leverage is reset daily.
Should I hold SHNY long term?
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SHNY is generally not built for long-term holding. Its leverage resets each day, so over weeks or months the compounding of daily returns can cause performance to decay and drift well away from three times the underlying gold move, especially in choppy or sideways markets. The product is intended for short-term tactical use, often measured in days. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
How does the leverage work?
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SHNY aims to deliver 300% of gold's return for a single day. If gold rises 1% on a given day, SHNY targets roughly a 3% gain before fees, and if gold falls 1%, SHNY targets roughly a 3% loss. The exposure is rebalanced daily, so each day starts fresh and gains or losses compound from a new base. This daily reset is why multi-day returns can differ substantially from 3x the underlying move.
Is SHNY a good investment?
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Whether SHNY fits anyone depends on their goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon. It is a high-risk, leveraged, daily-reset product meant for experienced traders making short-term bets on gold, and it carries both leverage decay risk and the credit risk of Bank of Montreal. It is generally unsuitable as a long-term or buy-and-hold holding. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
Is SHNY an ETF or an ETN, and why does that matter?
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SHNY is an exchange-traded note (ETN), not an exchange-traded fund. An ETN is a senior unsecured debt obligation of the issuer, Bank of Montreal, rather than a fund holding gold or other assets. This means you take on the issuer's credit risk: if Bank of Montreal were to default, the value of the note could be affected regardless of how gold itself performs.
Is there an inverse version of SHNY?
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Yes. Bank of Montreal offers DULL, the MicroSectors Gold -3X Inverse Leveraged ETN, which seeks three times the inverse of gold's daily price move. Traders use DULL to bet against gold over short periods, while SHNY is used to bet on rising gold prices. Both share the same daily-reset and ETN credit-risk characteristics.
How do I compare SHNY to similar ETFs?
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Put a few fields side by side: the expense ratio (fees compound over decades), the index or strategy it tracks, the top holdings and how much they overlap with what you already own, the dividend yield, and the AUM, liquidity, and bid-ask spread that affect trading costs. For index funds, tracking error (how closely it follows its index) and tax efficiency matter too. SHNY's figures are above; the full method is in Walnut's guide on how to compare ETFs.
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Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Holdings weights and fund statistics on this page are approximations stamped to early 2026; verify current figures against Bank of Montreal (BMO), under the MicroSectors brand's fund page or your broker before investing.