EQ Specialty Recap: AI-Managed ETFs and Hedged Strategies Take the Lead

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This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards

Specialty equity categories posted positive results this week, led by the Equity: Specialty – Hedged category, which returned 0.31% Week-to-Date (WTD). The Equity: Specialty – Long | Short category followed closely with a 0.24% gain. While both categories are performing well in the short term, the Long | Short segment remains the performance leader for the year, currently sitting at 4.21% YTD compared to 3.24% for Hedged strategies.

Category Performance Snapshot

Category WTD 1 Month 3 Month 6 Month YTD 1 Year
Equity: Specialty – Hedged 0.31% 5.82% 1.86% 3.40% 3.24% 20.09%
Equity: Specialty – Long | Short 0.24% 3.92% 1.68% 5.12% 4.21% 16.35%

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance

Leading the pack this week was the AINT (FINQ DOLLAR NEUTRAL U.S. Large Cap AI-Managed Equity ETF) with a sharp 4.93% return. Conversely, the SHRT (Gotham Short Strategies ETF) was the primary laggard, declining -3.21% for the week, followed by PCR (Simplify VettaFi Private Credit Strategy ETF) at -2.74%.

Ticker Fund Name WTD Performance
Top Performers
AINT FINQ DOLLAR NEUTRAL U.S. Large Cap AI-Managed Equity ETF 4.93%
QTR Global X NASDAQ 100 Tail Risk ETF 2.30%
QGRD Horizon Nasdaq-100 Defined Risk ETF 2.20%
MSTQ LHA Market State Tactical Q ETF 2.19%
HELS Hedgeye 130/30 Equity ETF 2.12%
Bottom Performers
SHRT Gotham Short Strategies ETF -3.21%
PCR Simplify VettaFi Private Credit Strategy ETF -2.74%
ISWN Amplify BlackSwan ISWN ETF -2.45%
BTAL AGF U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund -1.80%
AAVM Alpha Architect Global Factor Equity ETF -1.65%

Analyzing the Weekly Flows

The EQ: Specialty channel pulled in $30 million in net flows this week. The Equity: Specialty – Hedged category was the clear winner, attracting $38 million in new assets, bringing its total AUM to $11.2 billion. This offset a minor pull-back in the Equity: Specialty – Long | Short category, which saw outflows of $8 million during the 5-day period.

Category Flows Summary

Category Fund Count AUM 5 Day 30 Day 90 Day YTD 1 Year
Equity: Specialty – Hedged 51 $11.2B $38M $6M $252M $499M $2,062M
Equity: Specialty – Long | Short 27 $4.8B ($8M) $89M $486M $743M $985M

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow

In terms of individual product flows, the CLSE (Convergence Long/Short Equity ETF) led the way with $17 million in weekly inflows. On the other end of the spectrum, BTAL (AGF U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund) saw the largest redemption of $23 million, while ORR (Militia Long/Short Equity ETF) shed $7 million.

Ticker Fund Name 5-Day Flow
Inflows
CLSE Convergence Long/Short Equity ETF $17M
HELO JPMorgan Hedged Equity Laddered Overlay ETF $15M
HEGD Swan Hedged Equity US Large Cap ETF $7M
PHEQ Parametric Hedged Equity ETF $7M
IALT iShares Systematic Alternatives Active ETF $7M
Outflows
BTAL AGF U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund ($23M)
ORR Militia Long/Short Equity ETF ($7M)
WTLS WisdomTree Efficient Long/Short U.S. Equity Fund ($4M)
CAOS Alpha Architect Tail Risk ETF ($4M)
HEFT Hedgeye Fourth Turning ETF ($3M)

Issuer League Table Update

JPMorgan maintains its dominant position in the specialty landscape with a 26.80% market share ($4.30B AUM), followed by First Trust at 13.99% ($2.24B AUM). Convergence was the most successful brand in terms of weekly inflows, gathering $17 million, while AGF saw the largest weekly outflow among top issuers at $23 million.

Top 5 Issuers by AUM

Brand Fund Count AUM AUM Market Share
JPMorgan 3 $4.30B 26.80%
First Trust 1 $2.24B 13.99%
Fidelity 2 $0.83B 5.15%
Alpha Architect 2 $0.67B 4.20%
Swan 1 $0.66B 4.10%

Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow

Brand 5-Day Flow
Inflows
Convergence $17M
JPMorgan $15M
Swan $7M
Outflows
AGF ($23M)
Militia ($7M)
WisdomTree ($4M)

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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.