Key Takeaways
- • CTA trades at $25.69 NAV with a 0.75% annual management fee, positioning it as a cost-competitive managed futures strategy for institutional investors seeking long-short exposure across equities, Treasury, commodities, and FX futures.
- • Year-to-date performance through May 31, 2026 shows 7.74% NAV return and 8.46% market price return, with one-year annualized performance at 11.43% NAV and 12.11% market price, demonstrating positive momentum in 2026.
- • Three-year annualized returns stand at 10.50% NAV and 10.66% market price, reflecting consistent mid-double-digit cumulative returns (52.09% NAV, 52.80% market price) over the three-year period, with 2024 delivering exceptional 24.18% performance.
- • Fund experienced notable near-term volatility with a -10.58% NAV decline over the past month (as of May 31, 2026), indicating heightened market sensitivity and potential downside risk in current trading conditions.
- • The SG CTA Index serves as the fund's recognized performance benchmark, establishing CTA as a mainstream managed futures vehicle for alternative allocations with documented low correlation to traditional stocks and bonds.
Summary
The Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF (CTA) represents an actively managed alternative investment vehicle designed to provide long-term capital appreciation through diversified exposure to futures contracts across multiple asset classes. Under normal market conditions, the fund constructs a portfolio of equity, U.S. Treasury, commodity, and foreign exchange futures, implementing both long and short positions to capture absolute returns independent of traditional equity and bond market movements.
As of July 2, 2026, CTA carries a lean fee structure with total annual operating expenses of 0.75%, comprising solely of management fees with no distribution, service, or other expenses. The fund trades at $25.69 with a NAV of $27.7669, reflecting a modest discount to intrinsic value. Performance data through May 31, 2026 reveals mixed near-term results alongside stronger medium-term trends. The fund declined 10.58% on a NAV basis over the preceding month, suggesting elevated volatility and potential headwinds in recent market conditions. However, year-to-date performance demonstrates resilience with a 7.74% NAV return (8.46% at market price), while one-year annualized returns reached 11.43% NAV and 12.11% at market price.
Three-year returns underscore the strategy's longer-term effectiveness, with annualized performance of 10.50% NAV (10.66% market price) and cumulative returns of 52.09% NAV (52.80% market price). Historical performance from 2024 proved exceptional, delivering 24.18% NAV returns, though 2025 moderated to 1.31% NAV. Since inception, the fund has generated 9.39% annualized returns on a NAV basis and 46.23% cumulative NAV return, with market price performance at 9.26% annualized and 45.46% cumulative.
The fund benchmarks against the SG CTA Index, an equal-weighted, annually reconstituted index that has achieved recognition as the key managed futures performance benchmark. This positioning establishes CTA within the institutional managed futures ecosystem, appealing to sophisticated investors seeking alternative allocation strategies with documented low correlation to equities and fixed income. Liquidity metrics show average daily trading volume of 546.6K shares, with current volume at 490.15K shares, supporting reasonable execution for institutional positions.
As of July 2, 2026, CTA carries a lean fee structure with total annual operating expenses of 0.75%, comprising solely of management fees with no distribution, service, or other expenses. The fund trades at $25.69 with a NAV of $27.7669, reflecting a modest discount to intrinsic value. Performance data through May 31, 2026 reveals mixed near-term results alongside stronger medium-term trends. The fund declined 10.58% on a NAV basis over the preceding month, suggesting elevated volatility and potential headwinds in recent market conditions. However, year-to-date performance demonstrates resilience with a 7.74% NAV return (8.46% at market price), while one-year annualized returns reached 11.43% NAV and 12.11% at market price.
Three-year returns underscore the strategy's longer-term effectiveness, with annualized performance of 10.50% NAV (10.66% market price) and cumulative returns of 52.09% NAV (52.80% market price). Historical performance from 2024 proved exceptional, delivering 24.18% NAV returns, though 2025 moderated to 1.31% NAV. Since inception, the fund has generated 9.39% annualized returns on a NAV basis and 46.23% cumulative NAV return, with market price performance at 9.26% annualized and 45.46% cumulative.
The fund benchmarks against the SG CTA Index, an equal-weighted, annually reconstituted index that has achieved recognition as the key managed futures performance benchmark. This positioning establishes CTA within the institutional managed futures ecosystem, appealing to sophisticated investors seeking alternative allocation strategies with documented low correlation to equities and fixed income. Liquidity metrics show average daily trading volume of 546.6K shares, with current volume at 490.15K shares, supporting reasonable execution for institutional positions.
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