What alternatives ETFs did when stocks fell
Of the 70 alternatives ETFs ETFIQ measured over the year to Oct 26, 2026, 23 rose on average in the weeks the S&P 500 fell. The median fund fell 33% 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 0.99% 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. 50 of the 70 finished ahead of T-bills over the same weeks, and 11 of the 23 that rose also did that. The strategies are not alike. The median hedged equity fund had a correlation of +0.88 with the S&P 500 and the median managed futures fund +0.29, so the table by strategy comes first.
23 of 70 alternatives ETFs rose on average in the weeks the S&P 500 fell, over the year to Oct 26, 2026.
50 of 70 alternatives ETFs finished ahead of T-bills over the year to Oct 26, 2026.
By strategy, most funds first
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Strategy | Funds | Rose when it fell | Median correlation | Median down-week capture | Ahead of T-bills |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hedged equity | 21 | 5 of 21 | +0.88 | 44.9% | 15 of 21 |
| Managed futures | 17 | 7 of 17 | +0.29 | 10.4% | 16 of 17 |
| Long-short equity | 9 | 1 of 9 | +0.71 | 78.1% | 7 of 9 |
| Volatility | 9 | 5 of 9 | −0.60 | −71.2% | 4 of 9 |
| Multi-strategy | 7 | 1 of 7 | +0.35 | 41.3% | 5 of 7 |
| Event driven | 3 | 2 of 3 | +0.16 | −9.2% | 1 of 3 |
| Global macro | 2 | 0 of 2 | +0.67 | 89.8% | 1 of 2 |
| Market neutral | 2 | 2 of 2 | −0.42 | −83.3% | 1 of 2 |
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 | −0.77 | +3.12% | −317.1% | −66.5 pts |
| VIXY | ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | Volatility | −0.77 | +2.26% | −229.9% | −47.3 pts |
| VXX | iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Future | Volatility | −0.77 | +2.23% | −226.4% | −46.4 pts |
| BTAL | AGF U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund | Market neutral | −0.63 | +1.26% | −127.8% | −11.5 pts |
| VIXM | ProShares VIX Mid-Term Futures ETF | Volatility | −0.61 | +0.75% | −76.4% | −19.7 pts |
| CTA | Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF | Managed futures | −0.27 | +0.72% | −72.6% | +14.3 pts |
| VXZ | iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures | Volatility | −0.60 | +0.70% | −71.2% | −19.3 pts |
| KMLM | KraneShares Mount Lucas Managed Futures Inde | Managed futures | −0.17 | +0.54% | −55.2% | +16.0 pts |
| MKTN | Federated Hermes MDT Market Neutral ETF | Market neutral | −0.22 | +0.38% | −38.9% | +13.4 pts |
| LSEQ | Harbor Long-Short Equity ETF | Long-short equity | +0.05 | +0.36% | −36.9% | +21.8 pts |
| FFUT | Fidelity Managed Futures ETF | Managed futures | −0.03 | +0.35% | −35.9% | +17.2 pts |
| TAIL | Cambria Tail Risk ETF | Hedged equity | −0.70 | +0.22% | −21.9% | −16.8 pts |
| FLSP | Franklin Systematic Style Premia ETF | Multi-strategy | +0.03 | +0.18% | −17.8% | +8.0 pts |
| DBMF | iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF | Managed futures | +0.10 | +0.15% | −15.7% | +17.1 pts |
| QBER | TrueShares Quarterly Bear Hedge ETF | Hedged equity | −0.67 | +0.15% | −14.8% | −3.8 pts |
| IMF | Invesco Managed Futures Strategy ETF | Managed futures | +0.14 | +0.12% | −11.9% | +15.4 pts |
| MNA | NYLIM Merger Arbitrage ETF | Event driven | +0.08 | +0.11% | −10.9% | −0.7 pts |
| MRGR | ProShares Merger ETF | Event driven | +0.16 | +0.09% | −9.2% | +2.1 pts |
| TOAK | Manager Directed Portfolios Twin Oak Short H | Hedged equity | −0.08 | +0.09% | −8.8% | −0.1 pts |
| HFMF | Unlimited HFMF Managed Futures ETF | Managed futures | +0.11 | +0.09% | −8.7% | +6.1 pts |
| CAOS | Alpha Architect Tail Risk ETF | Hedged equity | −0.09 | +0.02% | −2.3% | −2.3 pts |
| ISMF | iShares Managed Futures Active ETF | Managed futures | +0.27 | +0.02% | −2.3% | +9.4 pts |
| CCOR | Core Alternative ETF | Hedged equity | +0.03 | +0.01% | −0.9% | −1.9 pts |
| FMF | First Trust Managed Futures Strategy Fund | Managed futures | +0.21 | 0.00% | 0.0% | +8.3 pts |
| ORR | Militia Long/Short Equity ETF | Long-short equity | +0.25 | −0.02% | 1.6% | +18.5 pts |
| LALT | First Trust Multi-Strategy Alternative ETF | Multi-strategy | +0.26 | −0.02% | 2.3% | +9.4 pts |
| ASMF | Virtus AlphaSimplex Managed Futures ETF | Managed futures | +0.29 | −0.10% | 10.4% | +9.9 pts |
| QALT | SEI DBi Multi-Strategy Alternative ETF | Multi-strategy | +0.35 | −0.15% | 15.3% | +2.6 pts |
| HEDG | Equable Shares Hedged Equity ETF | Hedged equity | +0.76 | −0.16% | 16.2% | +5.4 pts |
| RSBA | Return Stacked Bonds & Merger Arbitrage ETF | Event driven | +0.24 | −0.17% | 17.4% | −6.4 pts |
| AHLT | AHL Trend ETF | Managed futures | +0.31 | −0.24% | 24.5% | +16.9 pts |
| RSBT | Return Stacked Bonds & Managed Futures ETF | Managed futures | +0.36 | −0.25% | 25.8% | +4.7 pts |
| FTLS | First Trust Long/Short Equity | Long-short equity | +0.71 | −0.28% | 28.2% | +6.5 pts |
| QBUL | TrueShares Quarterly Bull Hedge ETF | Hedged equity | +0.76 | −0.31% | 31.9% | −3.9 pts |
| PHEQ | Parametric Hedged Equity ETF | Hedged equity | +0.92 | −0.32% | 32.4% | +6.8 pts |
| HOLA | JPMorgan International Hedged Equity Laddere | Hedged equity | +0.66 | −0.32% | 32.6% | +3.5 pts |
| KSPY | KraneShares Hedgeye Hedged Equity Index ETF | Hedged equity | +0.87 | −0.36% | 36.6% | +7.5 pts |
| MFUT | Cambria Chesapeake Pure Trend ETF | Managed futures | +0.45 | −0.39% | 39.9% | +20.8 pts |
| HDG | ProShares Hedge Replication ETF | Multi-strategy | +0.86 | −0.41% | 41.3% | +1.9 pts |
| VYLD | Inverse VIX Short-Term Futures ETNs due Marc | Volatility | +0.79 | −0.41% | 41.5% | +10.2 pts |
| WTMF | WisdomTree Managed Futures Strategy Fund | Managed futures | +0.48 | −0.41% | 41.6% | +8.8 pts |
| QAI | NYLIM Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF | Multi-strategy | +0.84 | −0.43% | 43.6% | +2.4 pts |
| HEQT | Simplify Hedged Equity ETF | Hedged equity | +0.95 | −0.44% | 44.9% | +6.0 pts |
| CLSE | Convergence Long/Short Equity ETF | Long-short equity | +0.73 | −0.46% | 46.7% | +23.6 pts |
| HELO | JPMorgan Hedged Equity Laddered Overlay ETF | Hedged equity | +0.92 | −0.54% | 54.8% | +2.3 pts |
| HFND | Unlimited HFND Multi-Strategy Return Tracker | Multi-strategy | +0.77 | −0.58% | 58.6% | −0.9 pts |
| SHDG | Soundwatch Hedged Equity ETF | Hedged equity | +0.86 | −0.60% | 61.1% | +0.7 pts |
| TFPN | Blueprint Chesapeake Multi-Asset Trend ETF | Managed futures | +0.54 | −0.61% | 62.1% | +14.0 pts |
| HEGD | Swan Hedged Equity US Large Cap ETF | Hedged equity | +0.95 | −0.65% | 65.6% | +2.4 pts |
| SVOL | Simplify Volatility Premium ETF | Volatility | +0.69 | −0.69% | 70.1% | +7.8 pts |
| THEQ | T. Rowe Price Hedged Equity ETF | Hedged equity | +0.98 | −0.73% | 74.2% | +3.7 pts |
| ZVOL | Volatility Premium Plus ETF | Volatility | +0.64 | −0.73% | 74.6% | +15.3 pts |
| ASGM | Virtus AlphaSimplex Global Macro ETF | Global macro | +0.79 | −0.75% | 76.2% | +18.9 pts |
| PRAE | PlanRock Equity Plus Alternatives ETF | Managed futures | +0.72 | −0.76% | 76.8% | +10.4 pts |
| CBLS | Clough Hedged Equity ETF | Long-short equity | +0.53 | −0.77% | 78.1% | +3.3 pts |
| HEQQ | JPMorgan Nasdaq Hedged Equity Laddered Overl | Hedged equity | +0.88 | −0.79% | 79.9% | +1.7 pts |
| QIS | Simplify Multi-QIS Alternative ETF | Multi-strategy | −0.07 | −0.81% | 82.1% | −39.8 pts |
| EHLS | Even Herd Long Short ETF | Long-short equity | +0.64 | −0.83% | 83.8% | −0.3 pts |
| FFLS | The Future Fund Long/Short ETF | Long-short equity | +0.71 | −0.84% | 85.0% | −5.5 pts |
| ACIO | Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF | Hedged equity | +0.98 | −0.84% | 85.7% | +2.4 pts |
| HOLD | Harbor Alpha Layering ETF | Managed futures | +0.57 | −0.89% | 90.5% | −1.6 pts |
| FHEQ | Fidelity Hedged Equity ETF | Hedged equity | +0.97 | −0.93% | 94.8% | +4.2 pts |
| ZHDG | ZEGA Buy and Hedge ETF | Hedged equity | +0.96 | −0.96% | 97.1% | +1.7 pts |
| XTR | Global X S&P 500 Tail Risk ETF | Hedged equity | +0.99 | −0.97% | 98.2% | +5.3 pts |
| CSM | ProShares Large Cap Core Plus | Long-short equity | +0.98 | −1.02% | 103.1% | +8.0 pts |
| HFGM | Unlimited HFGM Global Macro ETF | Global macro | +0.54 | −1.02% | 103.4% | −0.4 pts |
| RSST | Return Stacked U.S. Stocks & Managed Futures | Managed futures | +0.84 | −1.08% | 110.1% | +19.8 pts |
| SVXY | ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF | Volatility | +0.79 | −1.25% | 127.2% | +18.4 pts |
| HFEQ | Unlimited HFEQ Equity Long/Short ETF | Long-short equity | +0.80 | −1.34% | 135.7% | +2.4 pts |
| QTR | Global X NASDAQ 100 Tail Risk ETF | Hedged equity | +0.89 | −1.53% | 155.7% | +3.8 pts |
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.
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ETFIQ Research, What alternatives ETFs did when stocks fell, data as of Oct 26, 2026. https://etfiq.com/research/2026-10-26/alternatives-down-weeks
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