Specialty Equity ETFs Hold Steady: A Look at This Week’s $50M Inflows

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Weekly Channel Summary

The EQ: Specialty channel currently represents $17B in total Assets Under Management (AUM), distributed across 79 ETFs managed by 54 distinct issuers. Activity over the past week was positive, with the channel gathering a net $50M in new assets. This builds on a solid year of capital accumulation, adding to a Year-to-Date (YTD) flow total of $1.36B and an impressive 1-Year net inflow of $2.94B.

This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards

This week, the Equity: Specialty – Long | Short category proved to be the more resilient segment, posting a Week-to-Date (WTD) return of -0.06% while maintaining a solid Year-to-Date (YTD) gain of 6.18%. On the other hand, the Equity: Specialty – Hedged category lagged slightly, ending the week at -0.16% despite holding a YTD return of 5.38%.

Category Performance Snapshot

Category WTD 1 Month 3 Month 6 Month YTD 1 Year
Equity: Specialty – Long | Short -0.06% 2.83% 3.26% 6.99% 6.18% 12.88%
Equity: Specialty – Hedged -0.16% 3.39% 4.51% 6.65% 5.38% 16.95%

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance

Among individual ETFs, the Clough Hedged Equity ETF (CBLS) stood out as the best performer, gaining 2.29% WTD. Conversely, the Formidable ETF (FORH) and the Man Active Emerging Markets Alternative ETF (MEMA) were the week’s sharpest decliners, returning -3.16% and -3.11%, respectively.

Ticker Fund Name WTD Performance
Top Performers
CBLS Clough Hedged Equity ETF 2.29%
WTLS WisdomTree Efficient Long/Short U.S. Equity Fund 1.90%
BTAL AGF U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund 1.61%
EMPB Efficient Market Portfolio Plus ETF Trust Units 1.33%
UPSD Aptus Large Cap Upside ETF 1.23%
Bottom Performers
FORH Formidable ETF -3.16%
MEMA Man Active Emerging Markets Alternative ETF -3.11%
ISWN Amplify BlackSwan ISWN ETF -2.74%
SHRT Gotham Short Strategies ETF -2.49%
HFEQ Unlimited HFEQ Equity Long/Short ETF -2.43%

Analyzing the Weekly Flows

The EQ: Specialty channel successfully gathered a net $50M in new assets this week. The Equity: Specialty – Long | Short category captured the largest share of these inflows, taking in $30M on a total AUM base of $5.1B. Additionally, the Equity: Specialty – Hedged category attracted $19M in positive flows. Notably, neither of these primary categories experienced net outflows for the week.

Category Flows Summary

Category Fund Count AUM 5 Day 30 Day 90 Day YTD 1 Year
Equity: Specialty – Long | Short 27 $5.1B $30M $150M $438M $880M $1,091M
Equity: Specialty – Hedged 52 $11.5B $19M -$37M $92M $479M $1,851M

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow

Looking at individual funds, the John Hancock Hedged Equity ETF (JHDG) led the way in capital gathering with $27M in 5-day inflows. On the outflow side, the Castellan Targeted Equity ETF (CTEF) and the Militia Long/Short Equity ETF (ORR) experienced the most significant redemptions, shedding $29M and $7M, respectively.

Ticker Fund Name 5-Day Flow
Inflows
JHDG John Hancock Hedged Equity ETF $27M
CLSE Convergence Long/Short Equity ETF $21M
IALT iShares Systematic Alternatives Active ETF $18M
HELO JPMorgan Hedged Equity Laddered Overlay ETF $12M
OVLH Overlay Shares Hedged Large Cap Equity ETF $5M
Outflows
CTEF Castellan Targeted Equity ETF -$29M
ORR Militia Long/Short Equity ETF -$7M
CSM ProShares Large Cap Core Plus -$3M
PRAE PlanRock Alternative Growth ETF -$2M
HEQT Simplify Hedged Equity ETF -$2M

Issuer League Table Update

JPMorgan continues to act as the dominant force in the EQ: Specialty space, leading all issuers with a 26.59% market share, followed by First Trust at 14.03%. From a flows perspective, John Hancock gathered the most weekly inflows across the channel with $27M. Conversely, Castellan recorded the largest outflows among all issuers, losing $29M for the week.

Top 5 Issuers by AUM

Brand Fund Count AUM AUM Market Share
JPMorgan 3 $4.40B 26.59%
First Trust 1 $2.32B 14.03%
Fidelity 2 $0.89B 5.39%
Alpha Architect 2 $0.68B 4.13%
Swan 1 $0.68B 4.13%

Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow

Brand 5-Day Flow
Inflows
John Hancock $27M
Convergence $21M
iShares $18M
Outflows
Castellan -$29M
Militia -$7M
ProShares -$3M

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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.