Weekly Specialty ETF Recap: Hedged Strategies Lead as Channel Crosses $16.3B AUM

Share

Weekly Channel Summary

The EQ: Specialty channel currently oversees $16.3B in total Assets Under Management (AUM) across 79 ETFs, managed by 54 different issuers. The channel experienced positive momentum this past week, capturing $129M in net inflows. This weekly growth adds to a strong longer-term trajectory, with year-to-date (YTD) flows sitting at $1.31B and 1-year net flows reaching a robust $2.95B.

This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards

Both categories within the specialty channel posted solid positive returns this week. The Equity: Specialty – Hedged category led the pack, returning 1.57% for the week and bringing its YTD performance to 5.59%. The Equity: Specialty – Long | Short category slightly lagged its hedged counterpart for the week at 1.42%, though it maintains a slightly higher YTD return of 6.04%.

Category Performance Snapshot

Category WTD 1 Month 3 Month 6 Month YTD 1 Year
Equity: Specialty – Hedged 1.57% 5.80% 3.99% 6.90% 5.59% 20.55%
Equity: Specialty – Long | Short 1.42% 3.54% 3.72% 6.80% 6.04% 16.00%

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance

Drilling down into individual funds, the FINQ DOLLAR NEUTRAL U.S. Large Cap Al-Managed Equity ETF (AINT) was the standout leader, gaining 5.93% over the past week. Conversely, the deepest declines were felt by the AGF U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund (BTAL) and the Simplify VettaFi Private Credit Strategy ETF (PCR), falling 3.13% and 3.12%, respectively.

Ticker Fund Name WTD Performance
Top Performers
AINT FINQ DOLLAR NEUTRAL U.S. Large Cap Al-Managed Equity ETF 5.93%
QTR Global X NASDAQ 100 Tail Risk ETF 5.42%
MEMA Man Active Emerging Markets Alternative ETF 5.34%
CLSE Convergence Long/Short Equity ETF 5.05%
MSTQ LHA Market State Tactical Q ETF 5.00%
Bottom Performers
BTAL AGF U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund -3.13%
PCR Simplify VettaFi Private Credit Strategy ETF -3.12%
CCOR Core Alternative ETF -1.74%
HFSP TradersAl Large Cap Equity & Cash ETF -1.44%
VAMO Cambria Value & Momentum ETF -1.25%

Analyzing the Weekly Flows

The specialty channel saw an influx of $129M over the past five trading days. The Equity: Specialty – Hedged category, which accounts for the lion’s share of the channel at $11.3B AUM, received the majority of the interest with $73M in net creations. Its counterpart, the Equity: Specialty – Long | Short category, was not far behind, gathering $57M in net inflows, meaning both top-level categories experienced positive overall demand.

Category Flows Summary

Category Fund Count AUM 5 Day 30 Day 90 Day YTD 1 Year
Equity: Specialty – Hedged 52 $11.3B $73M ($10M) $128M $460M $1,886M
Equity: Specialty – Long | Short 27 $5.0B $57M $174M $470M $850M $1,062M

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow

At the fund level, the iShares Systematic Alternatives Active ETF (IALT) attracted the most significant fresh capital this week with $45M in inflows. On the outflow side, investors primarily withdrew capital from the Cambria Value & Momentum ETF (VAMO) and the Simplify US Equity PLUS Upside Convexity ETF (SPUC), leading to net redemptions of $33M and $17M respectively.

Ticker Fund Name 5-Day Flow
Inflows
IALT iShares Systematic Alternatives Active ETF $45M
HELO JPMorgan Hedged Equity Laddered Overlay ETF $42M
CTEF Castellan Targeted Equity ETF $28M
CLSE Convergence Long/Short Equity ETF $24M
CAOS Alpha Architect Tail Risk ETF $9M
Outflows
VAMO Cambria Value & Momentum ETF ($33M)
SPUC Simplify US Equity PLUS Upside Convexity ETF ($17M)
BTAL AGF U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund ($7M)
SPD Simplify US Equity PLUS Downside Convexity ETF ($5M)
ORR Militia Long/Short Equity ETF ($4M)

Issuer League Table Update

JPMorgan remains the undisputed heavyweight in the specialty channel, capturing 26.89% of market share by AUM, followed by First Trust at 14.12%. For the most recent week, iShares gathered the largest share of new assets among issuers ($45M), while Cambria experienced the heaviest net outflows (-$33M) across its lineup.

Top 5 Issuers by AUM

Brand Fund Count AUM AUM Market Share
JPMorgan 3 $4.38B 26.89%
First Trust 1 $2.30B 14.12%
Fidelity 2 $0.87B 5.35%
Alpha Architect 2 $0.68B 4.17%
Swan 1 $0.67B 4.13%

Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow

Brand 5-Day Flow
Inflows
iShares $45M
JPMorgan $42M
Castellan $28M
Outflows
Cambria -$33M
Simplify -$18M
AGF -$7M

For a deeper dive into these trends, access our FREE, in-depth 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.