Specialty Equity Channel Update: CTEF and BFLX Steal the Show This Week

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Weekly Channel Summary

The EQ: Specialty channel currently manages $21.8 billion in assets across 80 ETFs and 54 unique brands. Over the past week, the channel attracted $729 million in net new money. This positive momentum extends longer-term, with year-to-date inflows reaching $6.57 billion and 1-year flows hitting an impressive $8.33 billion.

This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards

The Equity: Specialty – Hedged category led the channel this week, posting a solid Week-to-Date (WTD) return of 0.74%. Conversely, the Equity: Specialty – Long | Short category lagged slightly, but still managed to stay in the green with a 0.30% WTD gain. Both categories boast strong Year-to-Date (YTD) performance, up 7.05% and 6.53% respectively.

Category Performance Snapshot

Category WTD 1 Month 3 Month 6 Month YTD 1 Year
Equity: Specialty – Hedged 0.74% 1.72% 8.84% 7.85% 7.05% 18.86%
Equity: Specialty – Long | Short 0.30% 0.39% 5.78% 7.28% 6.53% 12.75%

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance

The standout performer this week was the Castellan Targeted Equity ETF (CTEF), jumping an impressive 4.73%. On the other end of the spectrum, the AGF U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund (BTAL) and the Leatherback Long/Short Alternative Yield ETF (LBAY) experienced the steepest drawdowns, shedding 5.09% and 2.88%, respectively.

Ticker Fund Name WTD Performance
Top Performers
CTEF Castellan Targeted Equity ETF 4.73%
CLIX ProShares Long Online/Short Stores ETF 3.54%
ORR Militia Long/Short Equity ETF 3.47%
MEMA Man Active Emerging Markets Alternative ETF 3.26%
TOS Twin Oak Strategic Solutions ETF 2.87%
Bottom Performers
BTAL AGF U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund -5.09%
LBAY Leatherback Long/Short Alternative Yield ETF -2.88%
PCR Simplify VettaFi Private Credit Strategy ETF -2.38%
CCOR Core Alternative ETF -1.96%
VAMO Cambria Value & Momentum ETF -1.88%

Analyzing the Weekly Flows

The channel witnessed $729 million in total net inflows this week. The Equity: Specialty – Long | Short category secured the vast majority of this capital, pulling in $828 million to support its $10.3 billion in AUM. Meanwhile, the Equity: Specialty – Hedged category saw mild net redemptions, logging the largest outflows at -$99 million.

Category Flows Summary

Category Fund Count AUM 5 Day 30 Day 90 Day YTD 1 Year
Equity: Specialty – Long | Short 28 $10.3B $828M $5,174M $5,411M $6,064M $6,369M
Equity: Specialty – Hedged 52 $11.5B -$99M $53M $7M $509M $1,958M

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow

The iShares Flexible Equity Active ETF (BFLX) comfortably dominated the creation activity, scooping up $541 million in weekly inflows. On the redemption side, the JPMorgan Hedged Equity Laddered Overlay ETF (HELO) and the ProShares Large Cap Core Plus (CSM) paced the outflows, returning $142 million and $4 million to investors, respectively.

Ticker Fund Name 5-Day Flow
Inflows
BFLX iShares Flexible Equity Active ETF $541M
IALT iShares Systematic Alternatives Active ETF $208M
CLSE Convergence Long/Short Equity ETF $39M
FTLS First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF $37M
FHEQ Fidelity Hedged Equity ETF $33M
Outflows
HELO JPMorgan Hedged Equity Laddered Overlay ETF -$142M
CSM ProShares Large Cap Core Plus -$4M
MRSK Toews Agility Shares Managed Risk ETF -$4M
PHEQ Parametric Hedged Equity ETF -$2M
QTR Global X NASDAQ 100 Tail Risk ETF $0M

Issuer League Table Update

The issuer landscape continues to be heavily concentrated at the top, with iShares and JPMorgan dominating the space, controlling 24.18% and 19.31% of the channel’s total market share, respectively. iShares also secured its leadership standing by hauling in a channel-best $750 million in 5-day inflows. On the opposite side, JPMorgan suffered the largest outflows, seeing $142 million leave its products over the same timeframe.

Top 5 Issuers by AUM

Brand Fund Count AUM AUM Market Share
iShares 2 $5.28B 24.18%
JPMorgan 3 $4.21B 19.31%
First Trust 1 $2.39B 10.97%
Fidelity 2 $0.91B 4.19%
Alpha Architect 2 $0.74B 3.41%

Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow

Brand 5-Day Flow
Inflows
iShares $750M
Convergence $39M
First Trust $37M
Outflows
JPMorgan -$142M
ProShares -$4M
Parametric -$2M

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Disclosures

This material is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. All investments, including ETFs, involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Investors should consider their investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing.

This analysis was developed by the team at ETF Action. We leverage advanced AI tools to assist in the drafting and refinement of our content, based on our expert prompts, direction, and final review.