
AltShares Merger Arbitrage ETF
$30.05−0.01 (−0.05%)
- 0.76%
- $111M
- +4.3%
- 0.42%
- 0M sh
- $30.03
- low $28.30high $32.48
The ETF.net ARB Grade
Score 60 out of 100
- 1 of 5
Score 60 of 100 falls in the B band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.B65 out of 100Rank 1 of 5Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.B58 out of 100Rank 2 of 4Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.C53 out of 100Rank 2 of 5Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.B63 out of 100Rank 3 of 5Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.B56 out of 100Rank 3 of 5
Our read on ARB
BMerger arbitrage by rulebook. ARB tracks an index of already-announced deals (mergers, takeovers, tender offers, leveraged buyouts) around the world, with foreign currency exposure hedged back to the dollar.
The Fund seeks to track the performance of the Water Island Merger Arbitrage USD Hedged Index, which reflects a global merger-arbitrage strategy involving announced mergers, takeovers, tender offers, and leveraged buyouts.
Why people hold it
- The strategy is written into the index, not left to a manager's gut: announced mergers, takeovers, tender offers and LBOs, global in scope.
- Currency hedged by design. The index is the USD-hedged version, so results lean on deals closing rather than on moves in the euro or the pound.
- Spread across roughly 90 positions, so a single busted deal lands as a dent rather than a crater.
- At 0.76%, the fee sits at the midpoint of the merger-arb ETF field and well under First Trust's NTRL (0.95%) and sibling EVNT (1.33%).
Worth knowing
- Thinly traded. Bid-ask spreads can run wider than on a mainstream index fund, which matters most on large or hurried orders.
- Deal risk is the whole game: regulators blocking a takeover or a buyer walking away is what hurts here, and the opportunity set shrinks when the deal calendar goes quiet.
- 0.76% is specialist pricing, several times what a plain stock index fund costs. You are paying for the arbitrage machinery, not for market exposure.
ARB Holdings
- Other
- 67
- 29%
- Warner Bros Discovery, Inc.
Sectors
- Technology23.2%
- Health Care22.3%
- Financials13.2%
- Industrials8.3%
- Consumer Staples7.9%
- Consumer Discretionary7.2%
- Materials6.7%
- Utilities3.9%
- Real Estate3.9%
- Communication3.3%
Geography
- United States77.38%
- Canada8.27%
- United Kingdom5.22%
- Netherlands3.83%
- Jersey1.99%
- Italy1.70%
- France0.93%
- Denmark0.68%
ARB Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
Returns run to the Oct 12, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | ARB |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +3.4% |
| 1 month | +0.9% |
| 3 months | +1.2% |
| 1 year | +4.3% |
| 3 years | +5.2% |
| 5 years | +4.2% |
| 10 years | — |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | ARB |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +3.4% | |
| 2025 | +6.1% | |
| 2024 | +4.1% | |
| 2023 | +3.8% | |
| 2022 | +2.7% | |
| 2021 | +3.2% | |
| 2020 | +3.9% |
ARB in the news
ARB Dividends
- 0.42%
- $0.13
- $0.13 per share
- Annual
Distribution history
ARB Risk
- 2.2%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- 0.20
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −5.6%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 0.03
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
ARB Cost
Other funds in Merger Arbitrage
- BMNANYLI Merger Arbitrage ETFExpense ratio 0.75%1 year return +3.1%
- BMRGRProShares - Merger ETFExpense ratio 0.75%1 year return +7.1%
- CNTRLFirst Trust Merger Arbitrage ETFExpense ratio 0.95%1 year return +8.8%
