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ARB

GradeBNew York Stock Exchange Arca

AltShares Merger Arbitrage ETF

Multi-Asset & Alternatives · Altshares · Inception 2020-05-07 · SEC filings

$29.93−0.04 (−0.12%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 2:48 PM EDT

Intraday session: down, 23 prints from 29.97 to 29.93. Range 29.93 to 30.00. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$29.92$29.96$29.98$30.0010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.76%
Fund size
$103M
1Y return
+3.7%
Yield · Last 12 months
0.42%
Holdings
86
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$29.92
52W range
low $28.30high $32.48

The ETF.net ARB Grade

B

58/ 100

Rank 2 of 5 in Merger Arbitrage⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for ARB. Scores out of 100: Cost 65, Risk 56, Mission not scored, Tradability 52, Holdings 56, Durability 58. Strongest: Cost (65). Weakest: Tradability (52). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 58 of 100 sits in the B band. Bands: A ≥ 70, B ≥ 55, C ≥ 40, D ≥ 25, F < 25; the scale skips E.

  • Cost

    What you pay to own it — the expense ratio plus trading frictions, ranked within its category.
    BScore 65
    Category rank1/5 · top 20%

  • Mission

    How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.
    Not scored
    —

  • Risk

    How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.
    BScore 56
    Category rank2/4 · top 50%

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    CScore 52
    Category rank2/5 · top 40%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    BScore 56
    Category rank3/4 · bottom quartile

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    BScore 58
    Category rank3/5 · mid-pack

Graded as of Sep 22, 2026 · Based on 5 of 6 pillars

Our read on ARB

ETF.net Research

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.

Stated mandate

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

  1. 01The strategy is written into the index, not left to a manager's gut: announced mergers, takeovers, tender offers and LBOs, global in scope.
  2. 02Currency 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.
  3. 03Spread across roughly 90 positions, so a single busted deal lands as a dent rather than a crater.
  4. 04At 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

  1. 01Thinly traded. Bid-ask spreads can run wider than on a mainstream index fund, which matters most on large or hurried orders.
  2. 02Deal 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.
  3. 030.76% 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

As of Sep 20, 2026, 9:25 AM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
86
Top-10 weight
29%
Largest holding
Warner Bros Discovery, Inc.3.8%

Sectors

  • Financials21.3%
  • Health Care18.8%
  • Industrials15.3%
  • Technology12.2%
  • Communication10.9%
  • Utilities8.3%
  • Real Estate5.2%
  • Materials3.3%
  • Consumer Discr.2.5%
  • Cons. Staples1.2%
  • Energy0.9%

Geography

  • United States77.38%
  • Canada8.27%
  • United Kingdom5.22%
  • Netherlands3.83%
  • Jersey1.99%
  • Italy1.70%
  • France0.93%
  • Denmark0.68%
The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 5.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001—Warner Bros Discovery, Inc.3.79%138,979$4M2
002EXASExact Sciences Corp.3.01%30,060$3M2
003JDEP.ASJDE Peet's NV2.92%80,326$3M1
004HOLXHologic, Inc.2.83%38,727$3M2
005CWANClearwater Analytics Holdings, Inc., Class A2.83%124,638$3M2
006MASIMasimo Corp.2.82%16,593$3M2
007EAElectronic Arts, Inc.2.82%14,498$3M2
008—Chart Industries, Inc.2.82%14,014$3M2
009CFLTConfluent, Inc., Class A2.81%94,420$3M2
010NSCNorfolk Southern Corp.2.79%9,160$3M263
011—Webster Financial Corp.2.78%39,751$3M2
012NGD.TONew Gold, Inc.2.68%205,741$3M1
013PENPenumbra, Inc.2.67%7,995$3M134
014—Air Lease Corp.2.52%40,043$3M2
015SEESealed Air Corp.2.24%55,245$2M2

Showing 1–15 of 67 holdings

ARB Performance

Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.

ARB$10,374
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,723
Sep 22, 2025 to Sep 22, 2026. ARB $10,374. SPY $11,723. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$9,353$10,646$11,940Sep 2025Mar 2026Sep 2026

Sep 22, 2025 – Sep 22, 2026

Returns run to the Sep 22, 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.

Trailing total return for ARB. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodARB
Year to date+3.1%
1 month+0.7%
3 months+1.1%
1 year+3.7%
3 years+5.1%per year
5 years+4.2%per year
10 yearsFund is under 10 years old—per year

As of the close, with distributions reinvested.

Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.

Annual total returns for ARB
YearReturn barARB
2026 YTD+3.1%
2025+6.1%
2024+4.1%
2023+3.8%
2022+2.7%
2021+3.2%
2020+3.9%

History from May 11, 2020

ARB in the news

ARB Dividends

Adds up every distribution paid per share over the last 12 months, divided by the last completed close. Distributions are counted by ex-date. Data through Sep 22, 2026.
0.42%Last 12 months
Payout per share
$0.13Last 12 months
Last payment
$0.13 per share
Paid on
Shares bought on or after this date do not qualify for this distribution.
Frequency
Annual

Distribution history

2020–2026

One bar per payment. 4 payments from 2020 to 2026 YTD. Dec 17, 2020 $0.73; Dec 15, 2022 $1.08; Dec 18, 2024 $0.31; Dec 18, 2025 $0.13. Use the arrow keys to read each point.2020202120222023202420252026YTD
Ex-datePay dateAmount per share
Dec 18, 2025Dec 19, 2025$0.13
Dec 18, 2024Dec 19, 2024$0.31
Dec 15, 2022Dec 19, 2022$1.08
Dec 17, 2020Dec 21, 2020$0.73

ARB Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
2.2%
Annualised · 36 months to Aug 2026
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.

Return above 3-month US Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
0.19
vs 3-month T-bills · to Aug 2026
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.

The largest fall from a peak to the low that followed.
−5.6%
Trough May 2023
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.

How strongly the fund’s returns move with its asset-class index.
0.03
vs its asset-class index
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

Expense ratio0.76%
  • The middle half of Merger Arbitrage funds
  • Median 0.76%

2 of the 5 Merger Arbitrage funds charge less.

ARB costs $76.00 a year on $10,000. The median Merger Arbitrage fund costs $76.00.