Weekly Channel Summary
The Alternative ETF channel finished the week with a total of $10.1 billion in Assets Under Management (AUM) spread across 46 ETFs from 28 different issuers. The channel experienced a notable influx of capital, pulling in $288 million in net flows over the past five days. This positive momentum contributes to a strong year-to-date figure of $3.97 billion and a total of $4.27 billion over the past year, indicating sustained investor interest in alternative strategies throughout 2025.
This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards
This week’s performance was characterized by the classic inverse relationship between volatility-linked strategies. The “Volatility – Long” category saw a gain of 0.98%, though it remains down by a significant -27.23% year-to-date. Conversely, the “Volatility – Short” category, designed to profit from calmer markets, declined by -0.44% for the week. Among the Absolute Return strategies, “Managed Futures” led the way with a solid weekly return of 0.89%, showcasing its ability to generate positive returns in the current market environment.
Absolute Return Category Performance
| Category | WTD | 1 Month | 3 Month | 6 Month | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Return – Managed Futures | 0.89% | 3.02% | 6.23% | 5.11% | 2.81% | 4.42% |
| Absolute Return – Multi-Strategy | 0.45% | 1.37% | 1.81% | 6.16% | 3.31% | 4.09% |
| Absolute Return – Event Driven | 0.27% | 0.96% | 1.65% | 5.45% | 7.31% | 8.21% |
Volatility Category Performance
| Category | WTD | 1 Month | 3 Month | 6 Month | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alternative: Volatility – Long | 0.98% | -9.97% | -27.95% | -43.02% | -27.23% | -37.54% |
| Alternative: Volatility – Short | -0.44% | 4.96% | 13.15% | 20.75% | -7.27% | -3.28% |
Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance
The week’s top individual performer was the WisdomTree Inflation Plus Fund (WTIP), which posted a strong gain of 3.43%. On the other end of the spectrum, the First Trust Alternative Absolute Return Strategy ETF (FAAR) was the worst performer with a -2.26% return, followed closely by the Franklin Systematic Style Premia ETF (FLSP), which lost -1.25%.
| Ticker | Fund Name | WTD Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Top Performers | ||
| WTIP | WisdomTree Inflation Plus Fund | 3.43% |
| AHLT | American Beacon AHL Trend ETF | 2.73% |
| ASGM | Virtus AlphaSimplex Global Macro ETF | 2.16% |
| ASMF | Virtus Alphasimplex Managed Futures ETF | 1.76% |
| WTMF | WisdomTree Managed Futures Strategy Fund | 1.75% |
| Bottom Performers | ||
| FAAR | First Trust Alternative Absolute Return Strategy ETF | -2.26% |
| WZRD | Opportunistic Trader ETF | -1.43% |
| FLSP | Franklin Systematic Style Premia ETF | -1.25% |
| CTA | Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF | -1.20% |
| KMLM | KraneShares Mount Lucas Managed Futures Index Strategy ETF | -0.89% |
Analyzing the Weekly Flows
Investors allocated a net total of $288 million to the Alternative channel this week. The “Absolute Return – Managed Futures” category was the primary beneficiary, attracting $163 million in new assets. Interestingly, investors also showed contrarian conviction by pouring $88 million into the “Volatility – Long” category, despite its deeply negative year-to-date performance. The largest outflows were seen in the “Volatility – Short” category, which shed $34 million, suggesting some investors may be taking profits after a strong run over the past six months. Overall, the Absolute Return categories saw a healthy net inflow, collecting a combined $234 million.
Absolute Return Category Flows
| Category | Fund Count | AUM | 5 Day | 30 Day | 90 Day | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Return – Managed Futures | 14 | $4.0B | $163M | $240M | $525M | $1,434M | $1,780M |
| Absolute Return – Multi-Strategy | 11 | $1.7B | $68M | $112M | $64M | $119M | $264M |
| Absolute Return – Event Driven | 9 | $0.4B | $3M | ($4M) | $6M | ($21M) | ($66M) |
Volatility Category Flows
| Category | Fund Count | AUM | 5 Day | 30 Day | 90 Day | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alternative: Volatility – Long | 7 | $2.7B | $88M | $562M | $1,949M | $2,912M | $2,836M |
| Alternative: Volatility – Short | 5 | $1.2B | ($34M) | ($103M) | ($392M) | ($479M) | ($542M) |
Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow
The top inflow leader was the IMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF (DBMF), which gathered an impressive $154 million, representing over 10% of its total AUM. On the outflows side, the Simplify Volatility Premium ETF (SVOL) saw the largest redemption, losing $23 million, while the ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (SVXY) was not far behind with an outflow of $8 million.
| Ticker | Fund Name | 5-Day Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Inflows | ||
| DBMF | IMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF | $154M |
| VXX | iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN | $79M |
| QAI | NYLI Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF | $35M |
| FLSP | Franklin Systematic Style Premia ETF | $32M |
| CTA | Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF | $7M |
| Outflows | ||
| SVOL | Simplify Volatility Premium ETF | ($23M) |
| SVXY | ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | ($8M) |
| SVIX | -1x Short VIX Futures ETF | ($4M) |
| MARB | First Trust Merger Arbitrage ETF | ($1M) |
| AHLT | American Beacon AHL Trend ETF | ($1M) |
Issuer League Table Update
The issuer landscape is led by Simplify, which commands a 19.62% market share with $1.98 billion in AUM. Following in second place is iM, holding a 16.49% market share with $1.66 billion in AUM. For the week, iM was the top asset gatherer, bringing in $154 million. On the other side, Simplify experienced the largest outflows, with a net redemption of $16 million.
Top 5 Issuers by AUM
| Brand | Fund Count | AUM | AUM Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simplify | 3 | $1.98B | 19.62% |
| iM | 1 | $1.66B | 16.49% |
| ProShares | 6 | $1.31B | 13.00% |
| iPath | 2 | $1.10B | 10.91% |
| New York Life Investments | 2 | $1.00B | 9.92% |
Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow
| Brand | 5-Day Flow |
|---|---|
| Inflows | |
| iM | $154M |
| iPath | $79M |
| New York Life Investments | $35M |
| Outflows | |
| Simplify | -$16M |
| ProShares | -$2M |
| First Trust | -$1M |
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.
