Beacon's alternatives ETF opened 35% in the dollar, at a fee above every holding
Beacon Tactical Alternatives Risk ETF BTA listed Monday, August 24, 2026, on NYSE Arca and holds $26.4 million at a 1.55% net expense ratio.
Beacon Capital Management's new alternatives ETF is two weeks old, and the book already answers what the brochure does not. As of Wednesday, Beacon Tactical Alternatives Risk ETF BTA had 35% of assets in a U.S. dollar-bullish fund and 33% in three managed-futures products that already trade on their own. Digital assets, carbon credits, and REITs, all permitted in the August 19 prospectus, were not among the 12 holdings.
Beacon is closing BTR
The same adviser is winding up Beacon Tactical Risk ETF BTR, the equal-sector equity fund it listed in April 2023 with a mechanical stop-loss into fixed income. On Thursday, September 3, the board voted to close it at the adviser's recommendation, as the firm "continues to evolve its ETF lineup." Last NYSE Arca trading day is Wednesday, September 23; liquidation is on or about September 30.
BTR holds $32.7 million. Two-week-old BTA holds $26.4 million. How much of that is seed capital versus third-party money is not disclosed. The equity fund charges 1.08% net; the alternatives overlay is 1.55%. BTA is the same stop-loss instinct, applied to alternatives, delivered as a fund of funds.
What BTA owns now
The largest line is WisdomTree's U.S. dollar-bullish fund USDU at 35%. Three managed-futures funds take 33% combined: Simplify's CTA, KraneShares' Mount Lucas KMLM, and First Trust's FMF. FT Vest's gold target-income fund IGLD at 11% is an options overlay on gold. Invesco's diversified commodity strategy PDBC is 15.5%. A floating-rate note fund FLRN at 1.2%, short-term TIPS VTIP at 1.2%, short-term Treasuries VGSH at 1.2%, and short-term corporate bonds VCSH at 1.2% make up the sleeve the prospectus says the fund can use when it steps away from a weak alternative class.
There is no bitcoin, ether, or solana ETF in the file.
Beacon's site names five core classes (gold, broad commodities, managed futures, digital assets, and the dollar) and a "proprietary targeted loss-reduction strategy." The prospectus also permits carbon credits and occasional REIT exposure. Digital assets are on the brochure and in the filing; they are not in the book. The first portfolio is concentrated: the top five positions are 88% of assets.
Fees against funds it already holds
The August 19 prospectus lists a 0.65% management fee, 0.66% in other expenses, and 0.55% in acquired-fund fees, for 1.86% gross. A 0.31-percentage-point waiver takes the net ratio to 1.55% through September 30, 2027. The contractual cap of 1.00% excludes those acquired-fund fees, so the all-in charge stays 1.55% while the waiver holds. After that date the cap needs annual board reapproval.
That net figure is the price of Beacon's allocation overlay on top of funds a holder can already buy. CTA charges 0.75% on $1.54 billion. KMLM charges 0.90% on $445 million. FMF charges 0.98%. State Street's multi-asset real-return fund RLY, a one-ticket mix of resources, commodities, infrastructure, and TIPS, charges 0.50% on $1.41 billion. First Trust's multi-strategy alternatives fund of funds LALT is the closer structural analogue: $353 million at a 1.18% total expense ratio on its January 2, 2026 fee table.
Every named incumbent charges less than 1.55%. That gap is the price of Beacon's allocation call.
iMGP's managed-futures fund DBMF, at $4.15 billion and 0.85%, is the scaled version of a sleeve BTA is packaging rather than replacing. Expense ratios for the listed funds are the current published figures; BTA's 1.55% is net of the waiver.
The overlay is the product
Beacon actively manages the fund without an index, weighting the underlying ETFs in a risk-parity framework, so lower-volatility sleeves get more of the fund than jumpy ones. On this first cut, that is mostly a large dollar weight. Each alternative class is monitored on its own. If Beacon's signal turns bearish, the prospectus says the fund can sell that sleeve and hold short-term Treasury, TIPS, floating-rate, and short-term corporate-bond ETFs until the signal turns bullish again. There is no published numerical risk budget, no stated rebalancing calendar, and no backtest in the documents. Allocations "will change over time."
A wholly owned subsidiary holds some of the commodity and futures ETFs so their income can count as qualifying income for a regulated investment company, the same Cayman structure PDBC, KMLM, IGLD, and FMF already use.
Secondary-market trading has been thin after the first prints.
Volume fell from 200,000 shares a day to 100
Shares were at $25.14, matching net asset value. That is the liquidity a $26.4 million, two-week-old fund actually has.
The overlay is the reason to pay 1.55%. The opening book is the reason to ask whether you needed a new ticker to own it.
Frequently asked
What does BTA actually hold?
Twelve ETFs, led by a dollar-bullish fund at 35% of assets, three managed-futures funds at 33% combined, plus commodities, a gold-income overlay and small short-term bond sleeves.
Why is the fee 1.55% if the cap is 1.00%?
The contractual cap excludes acquired-fund fees, so the all-in charge stays 1.55% while the waiver holds.
Where are the digital assets Beacon advertises?
Digital assets, carbon credits and REITs are permitted in the prospectus and named on Beacon's site, but none appear in the opening book.
What happens to Beacon's other ETF?
The board voted to close the equity fund BTR at the adviser's recommendation, with a final trading day in late September and liquidation shortly after.