Weekly Channel Summary
The Alternative ETF channel continues to showcase its growing relevance in diversified portfolios, currently housing 47 ETFs across 29 issuers with total Assets Under Management (AUM) of $10 billion. The channel maintained positive momentum this week, attracting approximately $250 million in net inflows. This builds upon a strong year-to-date trend, pushing total YTD inflows to $4.09 billion, while the rolling 1-year flow figure stands at $3.87 billion. The consistent capital appreciation suggests investors are actively seeking non-correlated sources of return amidst broader market volatility.
This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards
The volatility complex presented a stark dichotomy this week. “Volatility – Short” strategies significantly outperformed, posting a weekly return of 2.89%, while “Volatility – Long” strategies struggled, declining by -6.06%. This divergence highlights the persistent headwinds for long volatility exposure, which remains down over 36% YTD, contrasting with the more resilient performance of short volatility strategies. In the Absolute Return space, Managed Futures led the way with a 1.06% gain, decoupling from Event Driven and Multi-Strategy categories which both finished slightly negative.
Absolute Return Category Performance
| Category | WTD | 1 Month | 3 Month | 6 Month | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Return – Managed Futures | 1.06% | 2.74% | 4.71% | 10.31% | 5.21% | 5.23% |
| Absolute Return – Event Driven | -0.14% | 0.36% | 2.09% | 3.10% | 8.89% | 9.49% |
| Absolute Return – Multi-Strategy | -0.84% | -1.59% | -0.34% | 4.37% | 2.56% | 2.56% |
Volatility Category Performance
| Category | WTD | 1 Month | 3 Month | 6 Month | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alternative: Volatility – Short | 2.89% | 13.33% | 5.14% | 28.64% | -2.15% | 7.74% |
| Alternative: Volatility – Long | -6.06% | -24.83% | -17.56% | -43.38% | -36.88% | -46.70% |
Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance
The single best performer this week was the SVIX (-1x Short VIX Futures ETF), a short volatility fund, which rallied 5.80%. On the opposite end of the spectrum, leverage proved costly for volatility bulls, with the UVIX (2x Long VIX Futures ETF) and WZRD (Opportunistic Trader ETF) suffering the steepest declines of -11.83% and -11.72%, respectively.
| Top Performers | ||
| Ticker | Fund Name | WTD Performance |
|---|---|---|
| SVIX | -1x Short VIX Futures ETF | 5.80% |
| SVXY | ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | 2.97% |
| ZVOL | Volatility Premium Plus ETF | 2.91% |
| AHLT | American Beacon AHL Trend ETF | 2.54% |
| CTA | Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF | 2.22% |
| Bottom Performers | ||
| UVIX | 2x Long VIX Futures ETF | -11.83% |
| WZRD | Opportunistic Trader ETF | -11.72% |
| UVXY | ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | -8.72% |
| VIXY | ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | -5.81% |
| VXX | iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN | -5.78% |
Analyzing the Weekly Flows
Flow activity for the week was decisively positive, with the channel absorbing $250 million. The “Absolute Return – Managed Futures” category was the primary beneficiary, attracting $198 million, indicating a strong investor preference for trend-following strategies. Notably, the “Alternative: Volatility – Long” category also saw inflows of $44 million, a contrarian signal given its poor weekly performance, likely driven by investors hedging against potential market turbulence. “Absolute Return” categories collectively gathered assets, reinforcing the demand for diversification.
Absolute Return Category Flows
| Category | Fund Count | AUM | 5 Day | 30 Day | 90 Day | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Return – Managed Futures | 15 | $4.6B | $198M | $265M | $731M | $1,952M | $2,028M |
| Absolute Return – Multi-Strategy | 11 | $1.9B | $5M | $4M | $260M | $311M | $319M |
| Absolute Return – Event Driven | 9 | $0.5B | $3M | $4M | $15M | ($8M) | ($9M) |
Volatility Category Flows
| Category | Fund Count | AUM | 5 Day | 30 Day | 90 Day | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alternative: Volatility – Long | 7 | $1.8B | $44M | $194M | ($412M) | $2,345M | $1,952M |
| Alternative: Volatility – Short | 5 | $1.2B | SOM | ($6M) | ($74M) | ($507M) | ($423M) |
Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow
The week’s undisputed flow leader was the FFUT (Fidelity Managed Futures ETF), which gathered an impressive $100 million. This single inflow accounted for a large portion of the entire category’s growth. Outflows were comparatively muted, with the SVIX (-1x Short VIX Futures ETF) seeing the largest redemption, shedding $5 million despite its strong performance.
| Inflows | ||
| Ticker | Fund Name | 5-Day Flow |
|---|---|---|
| FFUT | Fidelity Managed Futures ETF | $100M |
| DBMF | IMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF | $48M |
| CTA | Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF | $48M |
| VIXY | ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | $24M |
| UVXY | ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | $15M |
| Outflows | ||
| SVIX | -1x Short VIX Futures ETF | ($5M) |
| KMLM | KraneShares Mount Lucas Managed Futures Index Strategy ETF | ($1M) |
| SPC | CrossingBridge Pre-Merger SPAC ETF | ($1M) |
| VYLD | Inverse Vix Short-Term Futures ETN | $0M |
| ARB | AltShares Merger Arbitrage ETF | $0M |
Issuer League Table Update
IM and Simplify continue to dominate the Alternative ETF landscape, holding market shares of 20.49% and 18.94%, respectively. Fidelity made a significant move this week, topping the issuer flow charts with $100 million in net new assets, driven entirely by its Managed Futures product. Meanwhile, Volatility Shares experienced the largest net outflows among issuers, though the redemption amount was minimal at just $2 million.
Top 5 Issuers by AUM
| Brand | Fund Count | AUM | AUM Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| IM | 1 | $2.06B | 20.49% |
| Simplify | 3 | $1.91B | 18.94% |
| New York Life Investments | 2 | $1.10B | 10.92% |
| ProShares | 6 | $1.03B | 10.28% |
| iPath | 2 | $0.69B | 6.85% |
Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow
| Inflows | |
| Brand | 5-Day Flow |
|---|---|
| Fidelity | $100M |
| IM | $48M |
| Simplify | $48M |
| Outflows | |
| Volatility Shares | ($2M) |
| KraneShares | ($1M) |
| CrossingBridge Funds | ($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.
