Hedged Equities Lead Inflows as Specialty ETFs Gather Momentum

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Weekly Channel Summary

The EQ: Specialty channel finished the week with 69 ETFs from 49 issuers, totaling $13.8 billion in assets under management. The channel experienced positive momentum this week, gathering $83 million in net inflows. Year-to-date, the category has seen significant growth, accumulating approximately $2.9 billion in net flows.

This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards

Performance was mixed across the channel this week. The Equity: Specialty – Hedged category led the way with a Week-to-Date (WTD) return of 0.24%, bringing its Year-to-Date (YTD) performance to 12.38%. Conversely, the Equity: Specialty – Long | Short category lagged, posting a WTD return of -0.18%, though it remains positive YTD at 7.26%.

Category Performance Snapshot

Category WTD 1 Month 3 Month 6 Month YTD 1 Year
Equity: Specialty – Hedged 0.24% 0.81% 4.73% 11.08% 12.38% 8.63%
Equity: Specialty – Long | Short -0.18% 1.42% 4.72% 7.26% 3.51%

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance

The best-performing ETF this week was the KONG (Formidable Fortress ETF), delivering a gain of 1.63%. On the downside, the BTAL (AGF U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund) and LSEQ (Harbor Long-Short Equity ETF) struggled the most, declining by -2.55% and -2.46% respectively.

Ticker Fund Name WTD Performance
Top Performers
KONG Formidable Fortress ETF 1.63%
HFSP TradersAI Large Cap Equity & Cash ETF 1.43%
SHRT Gotham Short Strategies ETF 1.33%
MSTQ LHA Market State Tactical Q ETF 1.05%
EMPB Efficient Market Portfolio Plus ETF Trust Units 1.02%
Bottom Performers
EHLS Even Herd Long Short ETF -1.00%
ORR Militia Long/Short Equity ETF -1.64%
LBAY Leatherback Long/Short Alternative Yield ETF -2.38%
LSEQ Harbor Long-Short Equity ETF -2.46%
BTAL AGF U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund -2.55%

Analyzing the Weekly Flows

The EQ: Specialty channel attracted a total of $83 million in net inflows this week. The Equity: Specialty – Hedged category was the primary driver, pulling in $70 million and maintaining the largest asset base at $10.0 billion. The Equity: Specialty – Long | Short category also saw positive movement with $13 million in inflows, and no category within the channel reported net outflows for the week.

Category Flows Summary

Category Fund Count AUM 5 Day 30 Day 90 Day YTD 1 Year
Equity: Specialty – Hedged 49 $10.0B $70M ($13M) $547M $2,399M $2,707M
Equity: Specialty – Long | Short 20 $3.8B $13M $64M $165M $496M $572M

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow

The HELO (JPMorgan Hedged Equity Laddered Overlay ETF) dominated inflows this week, collecting $61 million. In contrast, the QBER (TrueShares Quarterly Bear Hedge ETF) and PHDG (Invesco S&P 500 Downside Hedged ETF) saw the largest exits, shedding $3 million and $2 million respectively.

Ticker Fund Name 5-Day Flow
Inflows
HELO JPMorgan Hedged Equity Laddered Overlay ETF $61M
FTLS First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF $7M
CLSE Convergence Long/Short Equity ETF $6M
QBUL TrueShares Quarterly Bull Hedge ETF $5M
MSTB LHA Market State Tactical Beta ETF $3M
Outflows
AAVM Alpha Architect Global Factor Equity ETF $0M
SHDG Soundwatch Hedged Equity ETF -$1M
PHEQ Parametric Hedged Equity ETF -$2M
PHDG Invesco S&P 500 Downside Hedged ETF -$2M
QBER TrueShares Quarterly Bear Hedge ETF -$3M

Issuer League Table Update

JPMorgan and First Trust continue to lead the channel by asset size, commanding 27.86% and 15.48% market share respectively. JPMorgan also led the pack in flows this week, gathering $61 million, while Invesco experienced the largest weekly outflows of $2 million.

Top 5 Issuers by AUM

Brand Fund Count AUM AUM Market Share
JPMorgan 3 $3.85B 27.86%
First Trust 1 $2.14B 15.48%
Simplify 5 $0.65B 4.70%
Fidelity 2 $0.63B 4.58%
Swan 1 $0.60B 4.33%

Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow

Brand 5-Day Flow
Inflows
JPMorgan $61M
First Trust $7M
Convergence $6M
Outflows
SoundWatch Capital -$1M
Parametric -$2M
Invesco -$2M

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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.