Despite Big Losses, TQQQ Traders Keep Buying the Dip

“Buy the dip” might not be working as well in 2025 as it has in recent years, but that hasn’t stopped investors from trying.

A 5% slide in the S&P 500 during the second half of February snowballed into a 10% correction in March. Then, just as investors were getting comfortable, things unraveled again. By last week, the index’s year-to-date loss had hit 19% as President Donald Trump’s surprise tariff escalation pulled the rug out from under markets.

Despite being bruised and battered, investors have kept putting money to work in ETFs, including $36 billion in inflows last week and more than $340 billion since the start of the year.

Traders Try to Call a Bottom

Some of that is long-term money, but a good chunk is from traders trying to time the bottom.

Nowhere is this phenomenon more obvious than in the ProShares UltraPro QQQ (TQQQ), the No. 1 “buy-the-dip” target among traders.

The 3x leveraged ETF, which aims to deliver three times the daily return of the Nasdaq-100, plunged 57% from its February high to its low last week. But even as the ETF cratered, investors kept piling in.

In fact, inflows accelerated as volatility spiked. Since Feb. 19—the date of this year’s peak—TQQQ has taken in $7.1 billion. Of that, $3.1 billion came after April 2, the day Trump announced his “reciprocal tariffs” plan that sent markets into a tailspin.

Source: etf.com data

So far, it’s been a mixed bag for dip-buyers. TQQQ has rallied nearly 30% from last Tuesday’s lows, but that only brings it back to where it was on April 3—and it’s still down 45% from the February peak.

Some traders, though, see that as an opportunity. If the Nasdaq goes back to its highs, as it’s done time and time again, TQQQ buyers will make out like bandits. 

But like anything in markets, there are no guarantees. 

History as a Guide

Back in 2022, when the Nasdaq dropped 35% peak-to-trough due to surging interest rates, TQQQ shed 80% before finally bottoming out. 

That’s a much larger decline than the index and the ETF have seen this time around (the Nasdaq fell 23% at its worst point, while TQQQ lost 57%, as mentioned previously)—so things could always get worse. 

On the other hand, once the Nasdaq did reach its nadir in 2022, the following gains were enormous. 

Those who timed that bottom perfectly made up to 477% by the time the ETF hit new highs in December 2024.

The prospect of that type of massive gain is luring traders to pour money into the ETF. 

Of course, there’s no guarantee that things will play out like they did last time. In fact, the only thing you can count on with TQQQ is volatility. This is an ETF that dropped 16% on April 3, fell another 18% on April 4, and then exploded 35% higher on April 9.

Big rewards come with big risks—and with TQQQ, both are always just a trading day away.