Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
AHLT vs CTA: Correlation to the S&P 500
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, CTA moved less with the S&P 500 than AHLT: correlation −0.14 against +0.47.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about AHLT and CTA
Net assets: $131m on Jul 31, 2026 for AHL Trend ETF, and $1.3bn on Nov 3, 2026 for Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF.
AHLT in the 26 weeks SPY fell, year to Nov 4, 2026: SPY averaged −1.07%, AHLT −0.88%.
CTA in the 26 weeks SPY fell, year to Nov 4, 2026: SPY averaged −1.07%, CTA −0.06%.
Pair scorecard
CTA costs 0.10 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 14.7 points.
| Measure | AHLT | CTA |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +19.3% | +4.6% |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| Treasury bills, 52 weeks | +3.7% | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.96% | 0.86% |
| Net assets, AHLT as of Jul 31, 2026 and CTA as of Nov 3, 2026 | $131m | $1.3bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| Risk | ||
| Beta to the S&P 500 | +0.58: about 0.58% for each 1% | −0.30: about 0.30% for each 1% |
| Its average week when the S&P 500 fell | fell 0.88% | fell 0.06% |
How much it diversifies a stock portfolio, ranked against 17 systematic trend alternatives ETFs with a full year. 100 is best. How it is computed
One year of weekly moves against the S&P 500, within one strategy; it ignores what the fund returned. All alternatives ETFs ranked by it →
Risk and return
Sep 8, 2023 to Oct 30, 2026 · 164 weekly returnsFrom Sep 2023 to Oct 2026, CTA returned more: +40.5% to +23.1%. AHLT swung less: 15.3% to 17.5%. AHLT and CTA fell about the same at their worst: −18.6% and −19.0%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | AHLT | CTA | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +23.1% | +40.5% | CTA | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +6.8% | +11.4% | CTA | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +16.7% | +15.2% | AHLT (slight) | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 15.3% | 17.5% | AHLT | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 11.6% | 11.8% | AHLT (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −18.6% | −19.0% | Tie | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.21 | 0.45 | CTA | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.28 | 0.66 | CTA | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.37 | 0.60 | CTA | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 164 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Window by window
| Total return | ||
|---|---|---|
| Window | AHLT | CTA |
| 3 months | +2.3% | +6.2% |
| 6 months | +0.3% | −10.8% |
| 1 year | +19.3% | +4.6% |
| 3 years | +22.1% | +22.3% |
| Since launchNot the same days: AHLT Aug 2023 · CTA Mar 2022 | +22.2% | +37.8% |
Side by side
As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
One strategy, two funds
AHLT and CTA both run a managed futures strategy. Over the same 52 weeks to Nov 4, 2026, AHLT’s weekly returns had a correlation of +0.47 with the S&P 500 and CTA’s −0.14. In the 26 weeks the index fell, by 1.07% a week on average, AHLT averaged −0.88% and CTA −0.06%. Over the same weeks, AHLT finished 14.7 percentage points ahead of cash and CTA finished level with cash.
Client brief:
The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.
AHLT
AHLT is a managed futures fund. ETFIQ measures what every alternatives fund is sold on: whether it moves differently from the stock market. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, its weekly returns had a correlation of +0.47 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.58, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.58% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks AHLT fell 0.88% on average, a down-week capture of 81.7%. Over the same 52 weeks AHLT returned +18.3% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 14.7 percentage points ahead of cash.
CTA
CTA is a managed futures fund. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, its weekly returns had a correlation of −0.14 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of −0.30, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.30% the other way. In the same weeks CTA fell 0.06% on average, a down-week capture of 5.3%. Over the same 52 weeks CTA returned +3.6% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished level with cash.
Questions people ask
- Which moved less with the S&P 500, AHLT or CTA?
- Over the 52 weeks to Nov 4, 2026, AHLT’s weekly returns had a correlation of +0.47 with the S&P 500 and CTA’s −0.14, so CTA moved less with the index.
- Which did better when the S&P 500 fell, AHLT or CTA?
- In the 26 weeks the S&P 500 fell, by 1.07% a week on average, AHLT averaged −0.88% and CTA −0.06%, so CTA returned more in those weeks.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
It is a place in a set, not a rating or a recommendation.
Every number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, AHLT against CTA, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/alternatives/ahlt-vs-cta
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). AHLT against CTA. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/alternatives/ahlt-vs-cta
[AHLT against CTA (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/alternatives/ahlt-vs-cta)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.