Weekly Channel Summary
The Alternative ETF channel currently houses 47 funds across 28 distinct issuers, capturing $11.7B in Total Assets Under Management (AUM). Over the past week, the segment saw positive momentum, pulling in $110M in 5-day net flows. This continued a strong broader trend, bringing Year-to-Date (YTD) net inflows to $1.09B and extending the impressive 1-year flow total to $4.91B.
This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards
This week’s performance was largely defined by the classic inverse relationship between the Volatility sub-categories. The “Alternative: Volatility – Short” category surged, posting a strong 5.94% WTD gain, though it remains down -14.71% YTD. Conversely, the “Alternative: Volatility – Long” category plunged -12.49% WTD, giving back a portion of its substantial 28.14% YTD return. Within the Absolute Return segments, the Managed Futures category led the way, climbing 1.40% for the week.
Absolute Return Category Performance
| Category | WTD | 1 Month | 3 Month | 6 Month | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Return – Managed Futures | 1.40% | 2.05% | 10.63% | 14.57% | 11.14% | 16.69% |
| Absolute Return – Multi-Strategy | 0.79% | -1.62% | -0.46% | 0.06% | 0.03% | 6.17% |
| Absolute Return – Event Driven | 0.34% | 0.11% | 0.86% | 2.52% | 0.86% | 7.61% |
Volatility Category Performance
| Category | WTD | 1 Month | 3 Month | 6 Month | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alternative: Volatility – Short | 5.94% | -9.95% | -15.07% | -8.95% | -14.71% | -8.20% |
| Alternative: Volatility – Long | -12.49% | 17.61% | 30.67% | -0.59% | 28.14% | -29.64% |
Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance
The single best-performing fund of the week was the -1x Short VIX Futures ETF (SVIX), a short volatility strategy that rallied 12.40%. On the other end of the spectrum, long volatility funds suffered the steepest declines, with the 2x Long VIX Futures ETF (UVIX) and ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (UVXY) dropping -23.56% and -17.87%, respectively.
| Ticker | Fund Name | WTD Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Top Performers | ||
| SVIX | -1x Short VIX Futures ETF | 12.40% |
| SVXY | ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | 6.26% |
| ZVOL | Volatility Premium Plus ETF | 4.92% |
| ASGM | Virtus AlphaSimplex Global Macro ETF | 3.53% |
| VYLD | Inverse Vix Short-Term Futures ETN | 3.32% |
| Bottom Performers | ||
| UVIX | 2x Long VIX Futures ETF | -23.56% |
| UVXY | ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | -17.87% |
| VIXY | ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | -12.04% |
| VXX | iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN | -12.02% |
| WZRD | Opportunistic Trader ETF | -5.58% |
Analyzing the Weekly Flows
Investors injected a net $110M into the Alternative channel over the last week. The Absolute Return – Multi-Strategy category led all sub-groups with $36M in weekly inflows. Interestingly, we also saw significant inflows into both Volatility categories, with Volatility – Long taking in $35M and Volatility – Short gathering $34M. The allocation into Long Volatility appears to be a contrarian, buy-the-dip trade given the category’s poor weekly performance. Conversely, Absolute Return – Event Driven experienced the largest outflows at -$12M, which could indicate minor profit-taking or reallocation. Overall, the broader Absolute Return group continues to exhibit steady demand, anchored by Managed Futures’ massive $1.47B YTD haul.
Absolute Return Category Flows
| Category | Fund Count | AUM | 5 Day | 30 Day | 90 Day | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Return – Multi-Strategy | 11 | $2.0B | $36M | $103M | $141M | $141M | $383M |
| Absolute Return – Managed Futures | 16 | $6.4B | $18M | $461M | $1,416M | $1,471M | $2,865M |
| Absolute Return – Event Driven | 9 | $0.4B | -$12M | -$10M | -$22M | -$22M | $13M |
Volatility Category Flows
| Category | Fund Count | AUM | 5 Day | 30 Day | 90 Day | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alternative: Volatility – Long | 6 | $1.6B | $35M | -$554M | -$675M | -$678M | $1,961M |
| Alternative: Volatility – Short | 5 | $1.2B | $34M | $253M | $183M | $174M | -$311M |
Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow
On an individual fund level, the iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX) dominated, attracting the top inflow of $53M (representing a massive 9.43% of its AUM). Meanwhile, the ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (VIXY) and the Invesco Managed Futures Strategy ETF (IMF) saw the largest redemptions, shedding -$27M and -$20M in outflows, respectively.
| Ticker | Fund Name | 5-Day Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Inflows | ||
| VXX | iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN | $53M |
| FLSP | Franklin Systematic Style Premia ETF | $39M |
| DBMF | IMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF | $36M |
| SVIX | -1x Short VIX Futures ETF | $27M |
| UVIX | 2x Long VIX Futures ETF | $21M |
| Outflows | ||
| VIXY | ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | -$27M |
| IMF | Invesco Managed Futures Strategy ETF | -$20M |
| MARB | First Trust Merger Arbitrage ETF | -$11M |
| UVXY | ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | -$11M |
| FAAR | First Trust Alternative Absolute Return Strategy ETF | -$10M |
Issuer League Table Update
Looking at the sponsor landscape, iM holds the dominant market share position at 28.31% with $3.30B in AUM, followed by Simplify at 18.03% with $2.10B. For the week, iPath was the biggest winner in the flow column, gathering $53M. Conversely, ProShares saw the heaviest redemptions, posting a weekly net outflow of -$40M.
Top 5 Issuers by AUM
| Brand | Fund Count | AUM | AUM Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| iM | 1 | $3.30B | 28.31% |
| Simplify | 4 | $2.10B | 18.03% |
| New York Life Investments | 2 | $1.02B | 8.71% |
| ProShares | 6 | $0.78B | 6.73% |
| Franklin | 1 | $0.72B | 6.20% |
Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow
| Brand | 5-Day Flow |
|---|---|
| Inflows | |
| iPath | $53M |
| Volatility Shares | $48M |
| Franklin | $39M |
| Outflows | |
| ProShares | -$40M |
| Invesco | -$20M |
| First Trust | -$15M |
For a deeper dive into these trends, access our FREE, in-depth Thematic ETF reports in the right side panel of this page.
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.
