Weekly Channel Summary
The EQ: Specialty channel maintains a robust footprint in the market with $15B in total Assets Under Management (AUM) spread across 76 ETFs from 52 different brands. This past week, the channel attracted $90M in net new money, continuing a steady growth trend that has seen $696M in YTD flows and an impressive $3.42B in inflows over the past year. While both sub-categories remain in positive territory for the week, the Hedged segment continues to command the lion’s share of total assets.
This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards
Equity: Specialty – Hedged was the top-performing category this week with a 0.19% WTD return, narrowly edging out the Specialty – Long | Short category, which posted a 0.06% gain. Despite the tighter spread this week, the Long | Short category remains the performance leader on a Year-to-Date basis, up 2.98% compared to 1.73% for the Hedged segment. Both categories have shown significant strength over the past 12 months, delivering double-digit or near-double-digit returns.
Category Performance Snapshot
| Category | WTD | 1 Month | 3 Month | 6 Month | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equity: Specialty – Hedged | 0.19% | 0.34% | 3.14% | 8.54% | 1.73% | 11.01% |
| Equity: Specialty – Long | Short | 0.06% | 1.24% | 4.19% | 7.37% | 2.98% | 8.88% |
Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance
The best-performing fund this week was the Castellan Targeted Equity ETF (CTEF), which soared by 5.74%. On the lagging side, the ProShares Long Online/Short Stores ETF (CLIX) experienced significant pressure, dropping 7.84%, followed by the NEOS Long/Short Equity Income ETF (NLSI) which fell 4.72%.
| Ticker | Fund Name | WTD Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Top Performers | ||
| CTEF | Castellan Targeted Equity ETF | 5.74% |
| LBAY | Leatherback Long/Short Alternative Yield ETF | 5.71% |
| LSEQ | Harbor Long-Short Equity ETF | 4.56% |
| AAVM | Alpha Architect Global Factor Equity ETF | 3.69% |
| VAMO | Cambria Value & Momentum ETF | 3.13% |
| Bottom Performers | ||
| CLIX | ProShares Long Online/Short Stores ETF | -7.84% |
| NLSI | NEOS Long/Short Equity Income ETF | -4.72% |
| PCR | Simplify VettaFi Private Credit Strategy ETF | -4.53% |
| FFLS | Future Fund Long/Short ETF | -2.35% |
| QGRD | Horizon Nasdaq-100 Defined Risk ETF | -1.83% |
Analyzing the Weekly Flows
The channel realized a total net inflow of $90M this week. The Equity: Specialty – Long | Short category led the way with $56M in new assets, bringing its total AUM to $4.3B. Equity: Specialty – Hedged also saw healthy activity with $35M in weekly inflows. On a broader scale, both categories show strong positive momentum, with the Hedged category having attracted $2.6B over the last year.
Category Flows Summary
| Category | Fund Count | AUM | 5 Day | 30 Day | 90 Day | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equity: Specialty – Long | Short | 25 | $4.3B | $56M | $337M | $515M | $367M | $812M |
| Equity: Specialty – Hedged | 49 | $10.6B | $35M | $301M | $719M | $329M | $2,607M |
Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow
The Militia Long/Short Equity ETF (ORR) was the top flow leader this week, pulling in $23M. Conversely, the First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF (FTLS) led the outflows with a $11M reduction in assets, followed by the Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF (ADME) which saw $5M in outflows.
| Ticker | Fund Name | 5-Day Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Inflows | ||
| ORR | Militia Long/Short Equity ETF | $23M |
| BTAL | AGF U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund | $21M |
| HELO | JPMorgan Hedged Equity Laddered Overlay ETF | $12M |
| QBER | TrueShares Quarterly Bear Hedge ETF | $11M |
| CLSE | Convergence Long/Short Equity ETF | $9M |
| Outflows | ||
| FTLS | First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF | -$11M |
| ADME | Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF | -$5M |
| PHEQ | Parametric Hedged Equity ETF | -$5M |
| HEQT | Simplify Hedged Equity ETF | -$4M |
| MSTB | LHA Market State Tactical Beta ETF | -$4M |
Issuer League Table Update
JPMorgan continues to dominate the specialty channel with a 27.03% market share, followed by First Trust at 14.35%. This week, Militia gathered the most weekly inflows at $23M. Meanwhile, First Trust, despite being a top issuer by total assets, saw the largest weekly outflow among major brands, losing $11M.
Top 5 Issuers by AUM
| Brand | Fund Count | AUM | AUM Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan | 3 | $4.06B | 27.03% |
| First Trust | 1 | $2.16B | 14.35% |
| Fidelity | 2 | $0.84B | 5.60% |
| Simplify | 5 | $0.65B | 4.33% |
| Swan | 1 | $0.62B | 4.09% |
Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow
| Brand | 5-Day Flow |
|---|---|
| Inflows | |
| Militia | $23M |
| AGF | $21M |
| JPMorgan | $17M |
| Outflows | |
| First Trust | -$11M |
| Aptus | -$5M |
| Parametric | -$5M |
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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.
