Weekly Channel Summary
The Alternative ETF channel currently encompasses 47 ETFs across 28 distinct issuers, representing a combined Total AUM of $11.7 billion. Over the past five days, the channel experienced robust net positive flows of +$330M. This continued momentum brings the Year-to-Date (YTD) flow total to +$1,416M (or $1.42B) and pushes the 1-Year flow accumulation to an impressive +$4,335M ($4.34B).
This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards
This week demonstrated a sharp inverse performance relationship within the volatility segments. The Alternative: Volatility – Short category jumped +5.30% on the week, while its counterpart, Alternative: Volatility – Long, suffered a steep -11.94% decline. Despite this weekly volatility compression, the YTD trend still favors Volatility – Long, which maintains a +11.96% advance compared to Volatility – Short’s -10.53% drawdown. Meanwhile, Absolute Return – Event Driven emerged as the leading Absolute Return category for the week, delivering a positive +0.17% return to edge out minor losses in the Multi-Strategy and Managed Futures groups.
Absolute Return Category Performance
| Category | WTD | 1 Month | 3 Month | 6 Month | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Return – Event Driven | 0.17% | 0.51% | 0.81% | 2.39% | 1.03% | 8.61% |
| Absolute Return – Multi-Strategy | -0.31% | -1.44% | -1.28% | 1.35% | 0.13% | 12.29% |
| Absolute Return – Managed Futures | -0.46% | 0.70% | 8.02% | 14.22% | 10.56% | 23.10% |
Volatility Category Performance
| Category | WTD | 1 Month | 3 Month | 6 Month | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alternative: Volatility – Short | 5.30% | 2.20% | -11.91% | 1.42% | -10.53% | 39.74% |
| Alternative: Volatility – Long | -11.94% | -10.47% | 16.06% | -20.50% | 11.96% | -53.78% |
Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance
The single best-performing ETF for the week was the SVIX (-1x Short VIX Futures ETF), gaining a standout +11.52% as short volatility strategies rallied. Conversely, the week’s two worst-performing ETFs were UVIX (2x Long VIX Futures ETF) at -23.09% and UVXY (ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF) at -17.07%, clearly reflecting the harsh drag on the long volatility category.
| Ticker | Fund Name | WTD Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Top Performers | ||
| SVIX | -1x Short VIX Futures ETF | +11.52% |
| SVXY | ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | +5.73% |
| ZVOL | Volatility Premium Plus ETF | +4.49% |
| TFPN | Blueprint Chesapeake Multi-Asset Trend ETF | +4.22% |
| ASGM | Virtus AlphaSimplex Global Macro ETF | +3.62% |
| Bottom Performers | ||
| UVIX | 2x Long VIX Futures ETF | -23.09% |
| UVXY | ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | -17.07% |
| WZRD | Opportunistic Trader ETF | -13.70% |
| VIXY | ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | -11.37% |
| VXX | iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN | -11.34% |
Analyzing the Weekly Flows
The channel registered a strong net inflow of +$330M for the week. Notably, Volatility – Long attracted the most capital with a +$226M inflow, indicating aggressive contrarian behavior as investors bought the dip amidst the category’s double-digit weekly decline. Conversely, Volatility – Short experienced the largest outflows at ($55M), strongly suggesting investors were taking profits off the table following the category’s strong weekly performance. Within the Absolute Return segment, Managed Futures dominated demand, gathering +$141M, followed by Multi-Strategy with +$22M, while Event Driven posted minor outflows of ($3M).
Absolute Return Category Flows
| Category | Fund Count | AUM | 5 Day | 30 Day | 90 Day | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Return – Managed Futures | 16 | $6.6B | $141M | $442M | $1,474M | $1,611M | $2,996M |
| Absolute Return – Multi-Strategy | 11 | $2.0B | $22M | $78M | $172M | $163M | $406M |
| Absolute Return – Event Driven | 9 | $0.4B | ($3M) | ($13M) | ($24M) | ($25M) | $7M |
Volatility Category Flows
| Category | Fund Count | AUM | 5 Day | 30 Day | 90 Day | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alternative: Volatility – Long | 6 | $1.5B | $226M | ($56M) | ($477M) | ($452M) | $2,562M |
| Alternative: Volatility – Short | 5 | $1.2B | ($55M) | $44M | $158M | $119M | ($1,636M) |
Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow
At the product level, the top ETF for inflows by sheer dollar amount was UVIX, which gathered an impressive $173M, representing over 68% of its AUM in just five days. On the other side of the ledger, the top two ETFs for outflows were VXX shedding ($60M) and SVIX losing ($58M).
| Ticker | Fund Name | 5-Day Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Inflows | ||
| UVIX | 2x Long VIX Futures ETF | $173M |
| DBMF | IMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF | $146M |
| UVXY | ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | $86M |
| VIXY | ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | $32M |
| FLSP | Franklin Systematic Style Premia ETF | $19M |
| Outflows | ||
| VXX | iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN | ($60M) |
| SVIX | -1x Short VIX Futures ETF | ($58M) |
| CTA | Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF | ($18M) |
| IMF | Invesco Managed Futures Strategy ETF | ($11M) |
| VIXM | ProShares VIX Mid-Term Futures ETF | ($4M) |
Issuer League Table Update
The competitive landscape remains top-heavy with the top 2 issuers capturing over 47% of the channel’s assets. iM leads decisively with a 29.35% market share ($3.45B), followed by Simplify controlling 17.80% ($2.09B). On the flows side, iM easily captured the most weekly inflows, pulling in $146M. Conversely, iPath struggled the most this week, enduring the largest outflows at -$61M.
Top 5 Issuers by AUM
| Brand | Fund Count | AUM | AUM Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| iM | 1 | $3.45B | 29.35% |
| Simplify | 4 | $2.09B | 17.80% |
| New York Life Investments | 2 | $1.03B | 8.78% |
| ProShares | 6 | $0.81B | 6.89% |
| Franklin | 1 | $0.75B | 6.35% |
Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow
| Brand | 5-Day Flow |
|---|---|
| Inflows | |
| iM | $146M |
| ProShares | $117M |
| Volatility Shares | $115M |
| Outflows | |
| iPath | -$61M |
| Simplify | -$16M |
| Invesco | -$11M |
For a deeper dive into these trends, access our FREE, in-depth Alternative 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.
