{"url":"https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives","section":"learn","title":"Alternatives ETF Terms Explained in Plain Words | ETFIQ","description":"What correlation, beta, down-week capture and return against T-bills mean on an alternatives ETF, measured weekly over one year.","as_of":"Nov 4, 2026","structured_data":[{"@type":"DefinedTermSet","@id":"https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives#terms","name":"Reading an alternatives ETF: the vocabulary","url":"https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives","hasDefinedTerm":[{"@type":"DefinedTerm","@id":"https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives#correlation","url":"https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives#correlation","name":"Correlation","inDefinedTermSet":"https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives#terms","description":"How closely the fund\u2019s weekly returns moved with the S&P 500\u2019s over the last year, from \u22121 to 1. At 1 the two rise and fall together, at 0 there is no pattern, and below 0 the fund tended to move the other way."},{"@type":"DefinedTerm","@id":"https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives#beta","url":"https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives#beta","name":"Beta","inDefinedTermSet":"https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives#terms","description":"How far the fund moved, on average, for each 1% move in the S&P 500 over the same weeks. At 0.3 it moved about 0.3% the same way; below 0 it moved the other way."},{"@type":"DefinedTerm","@id":"https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives#down-week","url":"https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives#down-week","name":"Down week","inDefinedTermSet":"https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives#terms","description":"A week in which the S&P 500 fell, measured through SPY with dividends reinvested. A week that ended exactly level is not a down week."},{"@type":"DefinedTerm","@id":"https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives#down-week-capture","url":"https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives#down-week-capture","name":"Down-week capture","inDefinedTermSet":"https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives#terms","description":"The fund\u2019s average return in the S&P 500\u2019s down weeks as a share of the index\u2019s own average in those weeks. At 100% it fell as much, at 50% half as much, and below zero it rose. It is weekly and covers one year, so it is not the same number as Morningstar\u2019s downside capture."},{"@type":"DefinedTerm","@id":"https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives#against-t-bills","url":"https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives#against-t-bills","name":"Against T-bills","inDefinedTermSet":"https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives#terms","description":"The fund\u2019s total return minus a short Treasury bill fund\u2019s (BIL) over the same year, in percentage points. A fund can steady a portfolio and still earn less than cash."}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"ETFIQ","item":"https://etfiq.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Learn","item":"https://etfiq.com/learn/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Reading an alternatives ETF: the vocabulary","item":"https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives"}]},{"@type":"WebPage","name":"Alternatives ETF Terms Explained in Plain Words","description":"What correlation, beta, down-week capture and return against T-bills mean on an alternatives ETF, measured weekly over one year.","url":"https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives","dateModified":"2026-11-04","isPartOf":{"@type":"WebSite","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".lede"]},"publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"}}],"characters":2609,"truncated":false,"content":"ETFIQ / Learn / Reading an alternatives ETF: the vocabulary \n \n Reading an alternatives ETF: the vocabulary\n What correlation, beta, down-week capture and return against T-bills mean on an alternatives ETF, measured weekly over one year.\n An alternatives fund is sold on behaving differently from stocks. So the words here describe how a fund moved with the S&P 500, not what it returned. Each uses weekly returns over the last year. A fund holding futures or foreign shares prices at a different time from the New York close, and a week lets both sides see the same news.\n Correlation How closely the fund\u2019s weekly returns moved with the S&P 500\u2019s over the last year, from \u22121 to 1. At 1 the two rise and fall together, at 0 there is no pattern, and below 0 the fund tended to move the other way. Beta How far the fund moved, on average, for each 1% move in the S&P 500 over the same weeks. At 0.3 it moved about 0.3% the same way; below 0 it moved the other way. Down week A week in which the S&P 500 fell, measured through SPY with dividends reinvested. A week that ended exactly level is not a down week. Down-week capture The fund\u2019s average return in the S&P 500\u2019s down weeks as a share of the index\u2019s own average in those weeks. At 100% it fell as much, at 50% half as much, and below zero it rose. It is weekly and covers one year, so it is not the same number as Morningstar\u2019s downside capture. Against T-bills The fund\u2019s total return minus a short Treasury bill fund\u2019s ( BIL ) over the same year, in percentage points. A fund can steady a portfolio and still earn less than cash. Where to next\n Reading a leveraged ETF Reading a buffer ETF Reading an income ETF Reading a thematic ETF Reading a crypto ETF All alternatives ETFs What is a managed futures ETF? What is a hedged equity ETF? What is a market neutral ETF? What is a volatility ETF? ETF explainers: plain answers, live numbers Definitions as ETFIQ uses them for alternatives ETFs. Standards and sources \n\n Cite this page. ETFIQ, Reading an alternatives ETF: the vocabulary, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms. The underlying files are at Open data .\n Other forms Plain ETFIQ, Reading an alternatives ETF: the vocabulary, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives APA ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). Reading an alternatives ETF: the vocabulary. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives Markdown [Reading an alternatives ETF: the vocabulary (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives)","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, Reading an alternatives ETF: the vocabulary, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/learn/alternatives"}