{"url":"https://etfiq.com/compare/alternatives/cta-vs-imf","section":"compare","title":"CTA vs IMF: Correlation to the S&P 500 | ETFIQ","description":"CTA and IMF both run managed futures strategies. Over the year to Nov 5, 2026, CTA had a correlation of +0.05 with the S&P 500 and IMF +0.42.","as_of":"Nov 5, 2026","structured_data":[{"@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Which moved less with the S&P 500, CTA or IMF?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Over the 52 weeks to Nov 5, 2026, CTA\u2019s weekly returns had a correlation of +0.05 with the S&P 500 and IMF\u2019s +0.42, so CTA moved less with the index."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Which did better when the S&P 500 fell, CTA or IMF?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"In the 20 weeks the S&P 500 fell, by 1.61% a week on average, CTA averaged +0.09% and IMF \u22120.42%, so CTA returned more in those weeks."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Which earned more than cash, CTA or IMF?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Over the same weeks, CTA finished 1.3 percentage points ahead of cash and IMF finished 14.3 percentage points ahead of cash. Cash here is BIL, a fund of Treasury bills."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Which is cheaper, CTA or IMF?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"CTA charges 0.86% a year and IMF charges 0.65%, so IMF is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus."}}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"ETFIQ","item":"https://etfiq.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Alternatives ETFs","item":"https://etfiq.com/alternatives/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Compare ETFs","item":"https://etfiq.com/compare/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"CTA vs IMF","item":"https://etfiq.com/compare/alternatives/cta-vs-imf"}]},{"@type":"WebPage","name":"CTA vs IMF: Correlation to the S&P 500","description":"CTA and IMF both run managed futures strategies. Over the year to Nov 5, 2026, CTA had a correlation of +0.05 with the S&P 500 and IMF +0.42.","url":"https://etfiq.com/compare/alternatives/cta-vs-imf","dateModified":"2026-11-05","abstract":"Over the year to Nov 5, 2026, CTA moved less with the S&P 500 than IMF: correlation +0.05 against +0.42.","publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#website"},"speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".verdict",".faq"]}},{"@type":"Dataset","name":"ETFIQ comparison of CTA and IMF","description":"CTA and IMF both run managed futures strategies. Over the year to Nov 5, 2026, CTA had a correlation of +0.05 with the S&P 500 and IMF +0.42.","dateModified":"2026-11-05","creator":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"},"isAccessibleForFree":true,"url":"https://etfiq.com/compare/alternatives/cta-vs-imf","license":"https://etfiq.com/license/","publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"},"inLanguage":"en","creativeWorkStatus":"Published","distribution":[{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/alternatives.json"}],"variableMeasured":["Correlation with the S&P 500","Beta to the S&P 500","Down-week capture","Average week when the S&P 500 fell","Return against T-bills","Total return","Strategy","Expense ratio"],"keywords":["exchange-traded funds","ETF","Alternatives ETFs","fund data","SEC filings"]}],"characters":6720,"truncated":true,"content":"ETFIQ / Alternatives ETFs / Compare ETFs / CTA vs IMF \n ETFIQ etfiq.com \u00b7 independent ETF data \n\n Data as of Nov 5, 2026 .\n\n CTA vs IMF: Correlation to the S&P 500\n\n Over the year to Nov 5, 2026, CTA moved less with the S&P 500 than IMF: correlation +0.05 against +0.42.\n Copy this for sharing \n \n IMF costs 0.21 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 14.6 points; CTA is 3.9 times larger.\n CTA and IMF at a glance. As of Nov 5, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. CTA IMF \n Expense ratio 0.86% 0.65% \n Net assets, as of Nov 4, 2026 $1.2bn $307m \n Total return, 1 year +3.6% +18.2% \n Holdings in commo","source":"ETFIQ, independent ETF data. Recomputed nightly from public filings and prices.","publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"license":"https://etfiq.com/license/","license_text":"Data ETFIQ computes is free to use with attribution: ETFIQ (etfiq.com). Issuer data stays under its owner's terms.","citation":"ETFIQ, CTA against IMF, data as of Nov 5, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/alternatives/cta-vs-imf","a":{"ticker":"CTA","name":"Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF","issuer":"Simplify","desk":"alternatives","as_of":"2026-11-05","verdict":"Over the year to Nov 5, 2026, CTA returned 3.6%. When the S&P 500 fell, it rose 0.09% a week.","url":"https://etfiq.com/funds/cta","key_facts":[{"label":"Correlation with the S&P 500","value":"+0.05","as_of":"2026-11-05","source":"computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices"},{"label":"Beta to the S&P 500","value":"+0.10","as_of":"2026-11-05","source":"computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices"},{"label":"Down-week capture","value":"\u22125.9%","as_of":"2026-11-05","source":"computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices"},{"label":"Against T-bills, 52 weeks","value":"+1.3 pts","as_of":"2026-11-05","source":"computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices"},{"label":"12-month yield, capital gains included, on its starting price","value":"5.7%","as_of":"2026-11-05","source":"computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and distributions"},{"label":"Last payment (paid monthly), ex-date Oct 27, 2026","value":"$0.13","as_of":"2026-10-27","source":"Tiingo end-of-day distributions"},{"label":"Net assets","value":"$1.2bn","as_of":"2026-11-04","source":"issuer page, as of Nov 4, 2026"},{"label":"Expense ratio","value":"0.86%","as_of":"2026-10-28","source":"485BPOS XBRL, Oct 28, 2026"}]},"b":{"ticker":"IMF","name":"Invesco Managed Futures Strategy ETF","issuer":"Invesco","desk":"alternatives","as_of":"2026-11-05","verdict":"Over the year to Nov 5, 2026, IMF returned 18.2%. When the S&P 500 fell, it fell 26% as much.","url":"https://etfiq.com/funds/imf","key_facts":[{"label":"Correlation with the S&P 500","value":"+0.42","as_of":"2026-11-05","source":"computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices"},{"label":"Beta to the S&P 500","value":"+0.30","as_of":"2026-11-05","source":"computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices"},{"label":"Down-week capture","value":"26.1%","as_of":"2026-11-05","source":"computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices"},{"label":"Against T-bills, 52 weeks","value":"+14.3 pts","as_of":"2026-11-05","source":"computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices"},{"label":"12-month yield, capital gains included, on its starting price","value":"1.1%","as_of":"2026-11-05","source":"computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and distributions"},{"label":"Last payment, ex-date Dec 22, 2025","value":"$0.4641","as_of":"2025-12-22","source":"Tiingo end-of-day distributions"},{"label":"Net assets","value":"$307m","as_of":"2026-11-04","source":"issuer page, as of Nov 4, 2026"},{"label":"Expense ratio","value":"0.65%","as_of":"2026-02-26","source":"485BPOS XBRL, Feb 26, 2026"}]},"overlap_pct":null,"overlap_note":"ETFIQ does not publish a holdings overlap for this pair. Either the funds are not compared on holdings, or one book is incomplete.","full_text_at":"https://etfiq.com/compare/alternatives/cta-vs-imf"}