ProShares Short Oil & Gas (DDG) is an exchange-traded fund that seeks daily investment results corresponding to the inverse (-1x) of the daily performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Oil & Gas Index. The fund invests through derivatives, such as swaps, in stocks of U.S. companies operating across the energy sector, including oil drilling equipment and services, coal, major and secondary oil companies, pipelines, and liquid, solid, or gaseous fossil fuel producers and service providers; it targets growth and value stocks across diversified market capitalizations using a full replication technique. Launched on June 10, 2008, and domiciled in the United States, the ETF is managed by ProShare Advisors LLC, based in Bethesda, Maryland.
The fund provides inverse exposure primarily to large-cap U.S. oil and gas companies, serving investors seeking to hedge or speculate against declines in the oil and gas sector. Its portfolio typically holds a concentrated position, with substantially all assets allocated to derivatives tracking the benchmark index.
In a major strategic change announced on March 11, 2022, ProShares decided to liquidate and close DDG as part of an ongoing review of its product offerings, alongside five other ProShares Trust ETFs. Trading in DDG was halted prior to market open on May 3, 2022, after which the fund began liquidating its portfolio; remaining shareholders received cash distributions at net asset value on or about May 17, 2022, rendering the ETF delisted and no longer operational. No subsequent relaunches, partnerships, acquisitions, or expansions involving DDG have been reported.