Weekly Channel Summary
The Alternative ETF channel, comprising 47 ETFs managed by 28 distinct issuers, stands at a healthy $12.6 billion in total Assets Under Management (AUM). Flow activity over the past week highlighted strong ongoing interest in alternative strategies, with the space gathering $436 million in net inflows over the past 5 days. This continues a robust trend of accumulation, bringing the 30-day net flows to $1.10 billion and Year-To-Date (YTD) net flows to an impressive $2.21 billion. Over the past 12 months, the channel has accumulated over $5.21 billion in new capital.
This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards
This week distinctly highlighted the inverse performance dynamics within the volatility complex. The Alternative: Volatility – Short category led the charge, gaining a robust 2.13% for the week (WTD), despite still sitting in negative territory (-7.33%) for the year. Conversely, the Alternative: Volatility – Long category took a substantial hit, dropping -4.82% over the past 5 days, trimming its YTD gain to 2.68%. Over in the Absolute Return space, Managed Futures was the clear performance leader, notching a 1.18% WTD gain and continuing its dominant YTD run, up 13.44%.
Absolute Return Category Performance
| Category | WTD | 1 Month | 3 Month | 6 Month | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Return – Managed Futures | 1.18% | 2.91% | 10.30% | 15.90% | 13.44% | 25.57% |
| Absolute Return – Multi-Strategy | 0.60% | 0.88% | -1.24% | -0.68% | 0.65% | 12.39% |
| Absolute Return – Event Driven | -0.09% | 0.58% | 0.85% | 1.89% | 1.38% | 7.63% |
Volatility Category Performance
| Category | WTD | 1 Month | 3 Month | 6 Month | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alternative: Volatility – Short | 2.13% | 9.57% | -5.53% | 1.42% | -7.33% | 29.34% |
| Alternative: Volatility – Long | -4.82% | -18.91% | 0.04% | -19.47% | 2.68% | -49.57% |
Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance
The single best-performing product this week was the QIS (Simplify Multi-QIS Alternative ETF), which surged an impressive 6.10%. It was closely followed by another Managed Futures strategy, CTA. On the flip side, the volatility crunch heavily penalized long volatility funds; the two worst-performing ETFs for the week were UVIX (2x Long VIX Futures ETF) with a sharp -9.68% decline, and UVXY (ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF) dropping -7.19%.
| Ticker | Fund Name | WTD Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Top Performers | ||
| QIS | Simplify Multi-QIS Alternative ETF | 6.10% |
| CTA | Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF | 6.01% |
| SVIX | -1x Short VIX Futures ETF | 4.65% |
| SCLS | Stoneport Advisors Commodity Long Short ETF | 3.04% |
| SVXY | ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | 2.39% |
| Bottom Performers | ||
| UVIX | 2x Long VIX Futures ETF | -9.68% |
| UVXY | ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | -7.19% |
| VIXY | ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | -4.76% |
| VXX | iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN | -4.74% |
| WZRD | Opportunistic Trader ETF | -3.47% |
Analyzing the Weekly Flows
Investor appetite for alternative strategies brought $436 million of new net capital into the channel this week. The Absolute Return – Multi-Strategy category led all sub-groups, scooping up $332 million in new assets. Interestingly, despite being the top-performing category of the week, the Alternative: Volatility – Short category suffered the largest net outflows (-$11 million). This dynamic strongly suggests that investors were actively profit-taking after the segment’s positive weekly run. Overall, the Absolute Return side of the equation maintained solid momentum, taking in robust inflows across both Multi-Strategy and Managed Futures.
Absolute Return Category Flows
| Category | Fund Count | AUM | 5 Day | 30 Day | 90 Day | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Return – Multi-Strategy | 11 | $2.4B | $332M | $373M | $497M | $508M | $726M |
| Absolute Return – Managed Futures | 16 | $7.0B | $46M | $282M | $1,474M | $1,794M | $3,018M |
| Absolute Return – Event Driven | 9 | $0.4B | ($4M) | ($15M) | ($22M) | ($33M) | ($5M) |
Volatility Category Flows
| Category | Fund Count | AUM | 5 Day | 30 Day | 90 Day | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alternative: Volatility – Long | 6 | $1.6B | $73M | $616M | ($77M) | ($109M) | $2,732M |
| Alternative: Volatility – Short | 5 | $1.2B | ($11M) | ($159M) | $112M | $50M | ($1,264M) |
Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow
At the fund level, the QAI (NYLI Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF) and FLSP (Franklin Systematic Style Premia ETF) were the premier destinations for new capital, each pulling in a staggering $165 million. This represented a massive >20% AUM growth in just 5 days for both funds. Conversely, the largest outflows hit the CTA (Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF) losing $15 million, followed closely by the SVIX (-1x Short VIX Futures ETF), which saw $11 million walk out the door as investors locked in weekly gains.
| Ticker | Fund Name | 5-Day Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Inflows | ||
| QAI | NYLI Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF | $165M |
| FLSP | Franklin Systematic Style Premia ETF | $165M |
| UVIX | 2x Long VIX Futures ETF | $35M |
| DBMF | IMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF | $28M |
| VXX | iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN | $28M |
| Outflows | ||
| CTA | Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF | ($15M) |
| SVIX | -1x Short VIX Futures ETF | ($11M) |
| ARB | AltShares Merger Arbitrage ETF | ($6M) |
| VIXM | ProShares VIX Mid-Term Futures ETF | ($1M) |
| QALT | SEI DBI Multi-Strategy Alternative ETF | $0M |
Issuer League Table Update
When examining the issuer landscape, iM remains the undisputed category titan holding a 28.02% market share with $3.54 billion in AUM. Simplify takes the number two spot with 18.63% of the market pie and $2.36 billion. Looking at the weekly flow battleground, New York Life Investments was the standout winner, gathering $167 million in inflows, closely trailed by Franklin. On the lower end, Simplify saw the most severe pressure over the past 5 days with total outflows of -$13 million.
Top 5 Issuers by AUM
| Brand | Fund Count | AUM | AUM Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| iM | 1 | $3.54B | 28.02% |
| Simplify | 4 | $2.36B | 18.63% |
| New York Life Investments | 2 | $1.22B | 9.64% |
| ProShares | 6 | $0.92B | 7.25% |
| Franklin | 1 | $0.90B | 7.10% |
Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow
| Brand | 5-Day Flow |
|---|---|
| Inflows | |
| New York Life Investments | $167M |
| Franklin | $165M |
| iPath | $28M |
| Outflows | |
| Simplify | ($13M) |
| Altshares | ($6M) |
| SEI | $0M |
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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.
