The number of inverse ETFs has rapidly expanded as investors seek new ways to hedge against a market downturn. Many of the most popular inverse ETFs have quickly grown in asset size and trading volume which provides the necessary liquidity for making efficient trades. Since the recommended strategy for trading inverse ETFs is a short term trade it is useful to have a list of some of the most popular inverse ETFs with a description of each one. Here are seven of the most popular inverse ETFs along with a description of the indexes they are linked to as well as their stock symbols.

1. ProShares Short Dow 30 (DOG)

The ProShares Short Dow 30 (DOG) is structured to return the inverse of the daily performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. A purchase of DOG effectively allows an investor to simultaneously short every stock in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. A drop of 5 percent in the Dow Jones should result in a gain of 5 percent in the value of money invested in DOG. The DOG has been heavily traded since its inception date of June 2006 and gives investors a diversified short position against 30 of the largest blue chip companies in the U.S.

2. ProShares Short QQQ (PSQ)

The ProShares Short QQQ (PSQ) seeks to deliver daily investment results that correspond to one times the inverse performance of the NASDAQ 100 index which represents 100 of the largest non-financial domestic and foreign companies that are listed on the popular NASDAQ stock market. A drop of 5 percent on the NASDAQ would translate into a gain of 5 percent for an investor holding the PSQ.

3. ProShares Short S&P500 (SH)

The ProShares Short S&P500 (SH) seeks a daily investment return equal to one times the inverse of the daily performance of the well-known S&P500 index. A position in SH allows an investor to effectively short a well-diversified list of 500 U.S. operating companies and real estate investment trusts. A decline in the S&P500 would translate into an equal amount of gain in the SH.

4. ProShares Short MidCap400 (MYY)

The ProShares Short MidCap400 (MYY) seeks to return the inverse performance of the S&P MidCap400 index which represents 400 mid-sized U.S. operating companies and real estate investment trusts.

5. ProShares UltraShort Financials (SKF)

The ProShares UltraShort Financials (SKF) is a leveraged inverse ETF that seeks to return twice the inverse performance of the U.S. Financial Index which includes some of the biggest banks in the U.S. A drop of 10 percent in the Financial Index would result in a gain of 20 percent in the SKF. During the financial crisis when major banks were failing one after another investors used this fund to hedge against losses in banking stocks and to speculate on a continued collapse of the financial system.

6. ProShares UltraShort Gold (GLL)

The ProShares UltraShort Gold (GLL) fund seeks to capture 200 percent of the inverse performance of the price of gold as measured by the daily closing price on the London exchange. The GLL does not directly hold gold bullion but rather invests in financial derivatives structured to produce a result twice the inverse of gold’s daily price change. This inverse ETF has been very popular in recent years as the price of gold has been extremely volatile.

7. ProShares UltraShort Silver (ZSL)