ETFIQ Research · rebuilt every trading night

What alternatives ETFs did when stocks fell

Of the 67 alternatives ETFs ETFIQ measured over the year to Oct 14, 2026, 16 rose on average in the weeks the S&P 500 fell, and the median fund fell 37% as much as the index. These funds are sold on behaving differently from stocks, and this is that promise measured.

The S&P 500 fell in 25 of the 52 weeks, by 1.14% in its average down week. Down-week capture is a fund's own average in those weeks as a share of that, so below zero means it rose. Holding up is not the same as earning. 49 of the 67 finished ahead of T-bills over the same weeks, and 6 of the 16 that rose also did that. The strategies are not alike. The median hedged equity fund had a correlation of +0.91 with the S&P 500 and the median managed futures fund +0.47, so the table by strategy comes first.

Share on X Download as PDF

Every alternatives ETF, against the S&P 500

Rose when the S&P 500 fell, by strategy

4 of 21

3 of 17

5 of 9

0 of 8

1 of 6

1 of 3

2 of 2

0 of 1

16 of 67 alternatives ETFs rose on average in the weeks the S&P 500 fell, over the year to Oct 14, 2026.

ETFIQ Narrative

The S&P 500 fell in 25 of the 52 weeks to October 14, 2026, dropping an average of 1.14% in those weeks. Of the 67 alternatives ETFs ETFIQ measured over the year, 16 rose on average during those same weeks, and the median fund across all 67 fell 37% as much as the index did, a number known as down-week capture. Below zero on that measure means a fund rose when stocks fell; above 100% means it fell by more than the index.

The results split sharply by strategy, and the strategy table has to come first because the approaches are not alike. Volatility funds, with a median correlation of −0.67 to the S&P 500, had a median down-week capture of −43.5%, meaning they tended to rise as stocks fell. Market neutral funds, just two in the sample, had a median capture of −103.3%. At the other end, hedged equity, the largest group with 21 funds, carried a median correlation of +0.91 and a median down-week capture of 60.5%, so the typical fund still fell, just less than the index. Long-short equity funds also moved closely with stocks, at +0.67 correlation and 59.0% capture, and none of the eight rose on average in down weeks. Managed futures, with 17 funds and a lower median correlation of +0.47, had a median capture of 36.5%.

Looking at individual funds, the three VIX short-term futures products, UVXY, VXX and VIXY, posted the largest average gains in S&P 500 down weeks, each with negative correlations to stocks. BTAL, a market neutral fund, averaged a 1.89% gain in those weeks with a −0.75 correlation. Among managed futures funds, CTA, KMLM and FFUT showed negative down-week capture, meaning they rose slightly on average while stocks fell. At the other extreme, funds such as QTR and RSST had down-week capture above 150%, meaning their declines in down weeks outpaced the index's own drop.

Holding up in falling markets is a separate question from total return over the period. Of the 67 funds, 49 finished ahead of T-bills over the same 52 weeks. Among the 16 funds that rose on average when the S&P 500 fell, only 6 also beat T-bills. UVXY and VXX, for example, each trailed T-bills by more than 50 percentage points over the full year despite their strong down-week averages. MKTN, FFUT and KMLM were among the funds combining a rise in down weeks with a result ahead of T-bills.

Readers can look up any fund's correlation, down-week capture and performance against T-bills on its ETFIQ fund page, alongside its listed strategy and full one-year history.

Ahead of T-bills, by strategy

15 of 21

16 of 17

4 of 9

6 of 8

5 of 6

1 of 3

1 of 2

1 of 1

49 of 67 alternatives ETFs finished ahead of T-bills over the year to Oct 14, 2026.

By strategy, most funds first

By strategy, most funds first
Strategy	Funds	Rose when it fell	Median correlation	Median down-week capture	Ahead of T-bills
Hedged equity	21	4 of 21	+0.91	60.5%	15 of 21
Managed futures	17	3 of 17	+0.47	36.5%	16 of 17
Volatility	9	5 of 9	−0.67	−43.5%	4 of 9
Long-short equity	8	0 of 8	+0.67	59.0%	6 of 8
Multi-strategy	6	1 of 6	+0.46	40.1%	5 of 6
Event driven	3	1 of 3	+0.21	0.4%	1 of 3
Market neutral	2	2 of 2	−0.39	−103.3%	1 of 2
Global macro	1	0 of 1	+0.86	104.7%	1 of 1

Every fund with a full year, held up best first

Every fund with a full year, held up best first
Ticker	Fund	Strategy	Correlation	Average week when SPY fell	Down-week capture	Against T-bills
UVXY	ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF	Volatility	−0.80	+2.98%	−261.7%	−75.8 pts
VXX	iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Future	Volatility	−0.80	+2.14%	−187.9%	−56.6 pts
VIXY	ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF	Volatility	−0.80	+2.09%	−184.0%	−57.1 pts
BTAL	AGF U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund	Market neutral	−0.75	+1.89%	−166.3%	−18.4 pts
VIXM	ProShares VIX Mid-Term Futures ETF	Volatility	−0.67	+0.50%	−43.9%	−25.9 pts
VXZ	iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures	Volatility	−0.68	+0.50%	−43.5%	−25.0 pts
MKTN	Federated Hermes MDT Market Neutral ETF	Market neutral	−0.02	+0.46%	−40.3%	+14.1 pts
CTA	Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF	Managed futures	−0.22	+0.36%	−31.9%	+4.9 pts
KMLM	KraneShares Mount Lucas Managed Futures Inde	Managed futures	−0.14	+0.32%	−27.9%	+17.3 pts
FLSP	Franklin Systematic Style Premia ETF	Multi-strategy	−0.13	+0.27%	−23.9%	+8.5 pts
QBER	TrueShares Quarterly Bear Hedge ETF	Hedged equity	−0.72	+0.17%	−15.1%	−4.0 pts
TAIL	Cambria Tail Risk ETF	Hedged equity	−0.76	+0.10%	−8.6%	−19.0 pts
CCOR	Core Alternative ETF	Hedged equity	−0.17	+0.07%	−6.3%	−4.4 pts
CAOS	Alpha Architect Tail Risk ETF	Hedged equity	−0.19	+0.04%	−3.6%	−2.3 pts
MRGR	ProShares Merger ETF	Event driven	+0.10	+0.04%	−3.5%	+1.6 pts
FFUT	Fidelity Managed Futures ETF	Managed futures	+0.07	+0.02%	−2.0%	+22.3 pts
MNA	NYLIM Merger Arbitrage ETF	Event driven	+0.21	0.00%	0.4%	−1.0 pts
FMF	First Trust Managed Futures Strategy Fund	Managed futures	+0.10	−0.03%	3.0%	+7.7 pts
LALT	First Trust Multi-Strategy Alternative ETF	Multi-strategy	+0.31	−0.04%	3.4%	+9.6 pts
IMF	Invesco Managed Futures Strategy ETF	Managed futures	+0.33	−0.07%	6.3%	+16.5 pts
ORR	Militia Long/Short Equity ETF	Long-short equity	+0.37	−0.15%	13.5%	+18.7 pts
HEDG	Equable Shares Hedged Equity ETF	Hedged equity	+0.86	−0.18%	16.1%	+6.7 pts
DBMF	iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF	Managed futures	+0.25	−0.22%	19.4%	+20.1 pts
RSBA	Return Stacked Bonds & Merger Arbitrage ETF	Event driven	+0.38	−0.27%	23.4%	−7.7 pts
ISMF	iShares Managed Futures Active ETF	Managed futures	+0.49	−0.28%	24.3%	+10.9 pts
LSEQ	Harbor Long-Short Equity ETF	Long-short equity	+0.19	−0.28%	24.4%	+20.0 pts
QBUL	TrueShares Quarterly Bull Hedge ETF	Hedged equity	+0.85	−0.29%	25.6%	−2.9 pts
PHEQ	Parametric Hedged Equity ETF	Hedged equity	+0.94	−0.35%	30.9%	+9.0 pts
WTMF	WisdomTree Managed Futures Strategy Fund	Managed futures	+0.63	−0.36%	31.9%	+10.0 pts
FTLS	First Trust Long/Short Equity	Long-short equity	+0.84	−0.41%	36.0%	+9.6 pts
ASMF	Virtus AlphaSimplex Managed Futures ETF	Managed futures	+0.39	−0.42%	36.5%	+13.1 pts
VYLD	Inverse VIX Short-Term Futures ETNs due Marc	Volatility	+0.79	−0.42%	36.8%	+14.3 pts
ZVOL	Volatility Premium Plus ETF	Volatility	+0.65	−0.42%	36.9%	+24.9 pts
BTRN	Global X Bitcoin Trend Strategy ETF	Managed futures	+0.27	−0.42%	37.0%	−7.6 pts
HDG	ProShares Hedge Replication ETF	Multi-strategy	+0.85	−0.44%	38.5%	+2.8 pts
KSPY	KraneShares Hedgeye Hedged Equity Index ETF	Hedged equity	+0.91	−0.45%	39.1%	+9.3 pts
HOLA	JPMorgan International Hedged Equity Laddere	Hedged equity	+0.69	−0.45%	39.3%	+5.0 pts
QALT	SEI DBi Multi-Strategy Alternative ETF	Multi-strategy	+0.62	−0.47%	41.7%	+6.0 pts
CLSE	Convergence Long/Short Equity ETF	Long-short equity	+0.76	−0.50%	44.2%	+30.1 pts
QAI	NYLIM Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF	Multi-strategy	+0.88	−0.57%	49.7%	+3.8 pts
HEQT	Simplify Hedged Equity ETF	Hedged equity	+0.96	−0.60%	52.6%	+8.1 pts
HELO	JPMorgan Hedged Equity Laddered Overlay ETF	Hedged equity	+0.94	−0.69%	60.5%	+4.0 pts
AHLT	AHL Trend ETF	Managed futures	+0.47	−0.74%	64.6%	+21.0 pts
RSBT	Return Stacked Bonds & Managed Futures ETF	Managed futures	+0.52	−0.76%	67.1%	+8.1 pts
SHDG	Soundwatch Hedged Equity ETF	Hedged equity	+0.90	−0.78%	68.6%	+3.4 pts
SVOL	Simplify Volatility Premium ETF	Volatility	+0.77	−0.79%	69.7%	+14.3 pts
HEGD	Swan Hedged Equity US Large Cap ETF	Hedged equity	+0.98	−0.80%	70.7%	+5.1 pts
THEQ	T. Rowe Price Hedged Equity ETF	Hedged equity	+0.99	−0.83%	72.8%	+6.4 pts
FFLS	The Future Fund Long/Short ETF	Long-short equity	+0.67	−0.84%	73.8%	−2.5 pts
MFUT	Cambria Chesapeake Pure Trend ETF	Managed futures	+0.52	−0.90%	79.0%	+21.4 pts
XCLR	Global X S&P 500 Collar 95-110 ETF	Hedged equity	+0.94	−0.92%	80.4%	+3.3 pts
ACIO	Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF	Hedged equity	+0.99	−0.94%	82.2%	+5.2 pts
FHEQ	Fidelity Hedged Equity ETF	Hedged equity	+0.98	−0.95%	83.5%	+8.1 pts
HEQQ	JPMorgan Nasdaq Hedged Equity Laddered Overl	Hedged equity	+0.90	−0.98%	85.9%	+4.9 pts
CSM	ProShares Large Cap Core Plus	Long-short equity	+0.98	−1.03%	90.7%	+11.8 pts
XTR	Global X S&P 500 Tail Risk ETF	Hedged equity	+1.00	−1.12%	98.6%	+8.5 pts
QCLR	Global X NASDAQ 100 Collar 95-110 ETF	Hedged equity	+0.85	−1.17%	102.6%	−2.7 pts
SVXY	ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF	Volatility	+0.80	−1.18%	103.5%	+30.1 pts
HOLD	Harbor Alpha Layering ETF	Managed futures	+0.67	−1.18%	103.6%	+3.3 pts
ASGM	Virtus AlphaSimplex Global Macro ETF	Global macro	+0.86	−1.19%	104.7%	+23.0 pts
EHLS	Even Herd Long Short ETF	Long-short equity	+0.67	−1.22%	107.2%	−1.6 pts
TFPN	Blueprint Chesapeake Multi-Asset Trend ETF	Managed futures	+0.75	−1.24%	109.3%	+14.8 pts
PRAE	PlanRock Equity Plus Alternatives ETF	Managed futures	+0.80	−1.28%	112.3%	+13.0 pts
CBLS	Clough Hedged Equity ETF	Long-short equity	+0.60	−1.44%	126.2%	+2.5 pts
QIS	Simplify Multi-QIS Alternative ETF	Multi-strategy	+0.03	−1.60%	140.1%	−41.0 pts
RSST	Return Stacked U.S. Stocks & Managed Futures	Managed futures	+0.87	−1.74%	153.0%	+29.2 pts
QTR	Global X NASDAQ 100 Tail Risk ETF	Hedged equity	+0.93	−1.76%	154.4%	+10.2 pts

Method

ETFIQ calculations from Tiingo end-of-day closes for each fund, for SPY and for BIL, over 52 weekly returns ending on one date. Correlation and beta are computed on those weeks. Down-week capture is a fund’s average return in the weeks SPY fell as a share of SPY’s, on the unrounded averages. Against T-bills is the fund’s total return minus BIL’s over the same weeks. Strategies are read from each fund’s own prospectus. Thinly quoted funds are left out. Medians across funds. Rebuilt every trading night.

Data file: alternatives.json. ETFIQ is an independent publisher and makes no recommendations. Standards →

More research

The state of buffer ETFs→What a coin costs in a brokerage account→Who paid, and where the cash came from→The stated multiple and what the holder got→How much of a theme is already the index→

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ Research, What alternatives ETFs did when stocks fell, data as of Oct 14, 2026. https://etfiq.com/research/2026-10-15/alternatives-down-weeks

Open data →

Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms. The underlying files are at Open data.