Weekly Channel Summary
The Alternative ETF channel closed the final week of January with a total Assets Under Management (AUM) of $10.4B across 46 ETFs and 28 distinct brands. The segment continues to see healthy participation, gathering $101M ($0.10B) in net new money over the past five trading days. This weekly activity brings the Year-To-Date (YTD) net flows to $226M, maintaining the momentum seen over the trailing 1-year period, which has accounted for a staggering $3.98B in net inflows. This represents a significant growth phase for the channel as investors increasingly turn to non-traditional strategies like managed futures and volatility tracking to navigate market uncertainty.
This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards
Performance across the alternative landscape was characterized by a sharp divergence in volatility-related strategies. The “Alternative: Volatility – Long” category led the channel this week with a 2.94% return, benefiting from a spike in market nervousness. Conversely, the “Alternative: Volatility – Short” category was the primary laggard, declining -1.24% WTD. On a YTD basis, these two remain in opposition, with Long Volatility up 1.44% while Short Volatility is down -1.42%. Within the Absolute Return complex, Multi-Strategy funds outpaced their peers with a 1.73% weekly gain, followed closely by Managed Futures at 1.50%, while Event Driven strategies remained essentially flat at 0.10%.
Absolute Return Category Performance
| Category | WTD | 1 Month | 3 Month | 6 Month | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Return – Multi-Strategy | 1.73% | 2.50% | 0.93% | 3.14% | 2.85% | 6.34% |
| Absolute Return – Managed Futures | 1.50% | 6.42% | 9.56% | 15.03% | 6.20% | 12.10% |
| Absolute Return – Event Driven | 0.10% | 0.67% | 1.35% | 3.48% | 0.66% | 8.88% |
Volatility Category Performance
| Category | WTD | 1 Month | 3 Month | 6 Month | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alternative: Volatility – Long | 2.94% | 1.23% | -19.58% | -34.37% | 1.44% | -33.32% |
| Alternative: Volatility – Short | -1.24% | -1.39% | 7.22% | 16.70% | -1.42% | -4.49% |
Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance
On an individual basis, the top performer for the week was the Simplify Multi-QIS Alternative ETF (QIS), which jumped 5.94%, reflecting the strength in multi-asset quantitative strategies. The volatility theme dominated the rest of the leaderboard, with long-biased funds like UVIX up 5.07%. On the downside, short-volatility exposure suffered most; the -1x Short VIX Futures ETF (SVIX) fell -2.66%, and the Volatility Premium Plus ETF (ZVOL) dropped -2.09%, highlighting the risks of selling volatility in a choppier environment.
| Ticker | Fund Name | WTD Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Top Performers | ||
| QIS | Simplify Multi-QIS Alternative ETF | 5.94% |
| UVIX | 2x Long VIX Futures ETF | 5.07% |
| HFMF | Unlimited HFMF Managed Futures ETF | 3.78% |
| CTA | Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF | 3.50% |
| UVXY | ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | 3.49% |
| Bottom Performers | ||
| SVIX | -1x Short VIX Futures ETF | -2.66% |
| ZVOL | Volatility Premium Plus ETF | -2.09% |
| SCLS | Stoneport Advisors Commodity Long Short ETF | -1.46% |
| SVXY | ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | -1.13% |
| WTMF | WisdomTree Managed Futures Strategy Fund | -0.48% |
Analyzing the Weekly Flows
Net flows for the week totaled $101M, driven almost entirely by the “Absolute Return – Managed Futures” category, which attracted $112M. This robust inflow suggests that investors are increasingly using trend-following strategies to hedge portfolios as traditional asset classes fluctuate. Interestingly, we saw a contrarian bid in “Alternative: Volatility – Long,” which took in $1M despite its category having lost one-third of its value over the past year. In contrast, “Alternative: Volatility – Short” saw $11M in outflows, likely a combination of profit-taking and defensive repositioning following the week’s lackluster performance. Overall, the Absolute Return complex remains the primary engine of growth for the channel, netting over $112M while Volatility categories were net negative for the week.
Absolute Return Category Flows
| Category | Fund Count | AUM | 5 Day | 30 Day | 90 Day | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Return – Managed Futures | 15 | $5.2B | $112M | $351M | $698M | $320M | $2,079M |
| Absolute Return – Multi-Strategy | 11 | $1.9B | $3M | $11M | ($20M) | $10M | $244M |
| Absolute Return – Event Driven | 9 | $0.5B | ($3M) | ($11M) | $13M | ($11M) | $15M |
Volatility Category Flows
| Category | Fund Count | AUM | 5 Day | 30 Day | 90 Day | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alternative: Volatility – Long | 6 | $1.6B | $1M | ($24M) | ($203M) | ($32M) | $2,040M |
| Alternative: Volatility – Short | 5 | $1.1B | ($11M) | ($83M) | ($172M) | ($62M) | ($395M) |
Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow
The flow leader for the week was the IMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF (DBMF), which gathered $78M, representing a healthy 3.29% of its existing AUM. The 2x Long VIX Futures ETF (UVIX) also saw high conviction, pulling in $36M, which accounted for over 10% of its AUM in just five days. Outflow activity was led by the iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX), which saw $36M depart, followed by the -1x Short VIX Futures ETF (SVIX) with $14M in redemptions, indicating a broad exit from short-term volatility instruments.
| Ticker | Fund Name | 5-Day Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Inflows | ||
| DBMF | IMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF | $78M |
| UVIX | 2x Long VIX Futures ETF | $36M |
| CTA | Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF | $19M |
| VIXY | ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | $6M |
| FLSP | Franklin Systematic Style Premia ETF | $5M |
| Outflows | ||
| VXX | iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN | ($36M) |
| SVIX | -1x Short VIX Futures ETF | ($14M) |
| UVXY | ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | ($8M) |
| MNA | NYLI Merger Arbitrage ETF | ($4M) |
| AHLT | American Beacon AHL Trend ETF | ($2M) |
Issuer League Table Update
The competitive landscape in Alternatives remains top-heavy, with the top two issuers, IM and Simplify, commanding 23.64% and 18.96% of the market share, respectively, and a combined AUM of over $4.4B. IM was the clear flow leader this week, capturing $78M in net new assets, primarily through its single managed futures product. On the other end of the spectrum, iPath experienced the largest weekly outflow among issuers, losing $36M, which represents nearly 6% of its total AUM in the channel.
Top 5 Issuers by AUM
| Brand | Fund Count | AUM | AUM Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| IM | 1 | $2.45B | 23.64% |
| Simplify | 3 | $1.96B | 18.96% |
| New York Life Investments | 2 | $1.04B | 10.06% |
| ProShares | 6 | $0.92B | 8.89% |
| iPath | 2 | $0.61B | 5.93% |
Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow
| Brand | 5-Day Flow |
|---|---|
| Inflows | |
| IM | $78M |
| Simplify | $22M |
| Volatility Shares | $21M |
| Outflows | |
| iPath | ($36M) |
| New York Life Investments | ($5M) |
| American Beacon | ($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.
