iMGP's new ETF stacks stocks on managed futures and charges like the old fund

iM Global Partner and DBi launched the iMGP DBi Absolute Return ETF, DBAR, on Wednesday, keeping a managed-futures book at full size and adding U.S. stocks on top.

Andrew Beer, co-portfolio manager of the fund and co-founder of DBi, said this in the launch release, dated Thursday, October 1.

"The question we hear most from advisors isn't whether managed futures works in a crisis. It's how to hold it through the years in between."

He said the fund "keeps the managed futures exposure at a full 100% and adds equity, seeking to boost returns over time, especially in raging bull markets."

The fund is named Absolute Return. Its stated aim is long-term capital appreciation.

Two funds already listed offer a larger stock stake. The Return Stacked U.S. Stocks & Managed Futures ETF, CRSST, has since September 2023 targeted a full dollar of large U.S. stocks and a full dollar of managed futures for each dollar in. Simplify's US Equity PLUS Managed Futures Strategy ETF, BCTAP, launched in December 2025 with that same pair.

DBAR targets 100% managed futures plus 30% U.S. stocks, or 30 cents of stocks on that full dollar of futures. The prospectus filed Wednesday calls the fund highly leveraged.

Under normal conditions, the prospectus says, DBi will seek volatility of 8% to 10% a year. It also says DBi will limit exposure to positions expected to swing the most, and that the volatility figure is not a cap on losses.

The management fee is 0.85%. The iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF, BDBMF, the futures strategy without the stocks, charges the same 0.85% as of Monday, October 5. Mathias Mamou-Mani, co-portfolio manager of the fund and co-founder of DBi, said in the release that the fee structure matches, so investors get the stocks without additional drag. The prospectus adds 0.01% for funds held inside, so the total annual fee is 0.86%.

CRSST charges 0.99% as of Monday. BCTAP lists a full fee of 0.28%, and investors pay 0.10% as of September 29, 2026, while a fee cut runs at least through December 4, 2026.

The futures book is the model inside BDBMF: ten highly liquid futures markets, rebalanced each week. The release says the model has not changed since July 2016, and that DBi cannot overrule it. The firms say the stocks come through a low-cost U.S. stock ETF.

As of Sunday, October 4, DBAR held $3 million. As of Monday, BDBMF held $5.4 billion, CRSST held $580 million, and BCTAP held $170 million.

Winton Capital Management has proposed a U.S. stocks and managed-futures ETF at 0.93%, in a September 21 filing. It has no ticker yet.

Sold in the release as bull-market upside, under an absolute-return name, the new fund offers 30 cents of stock at BDBMF's management fee. Investors who want a full dollar of stocks on managed futures already had BCTAP at 0.10% while the fee cut lasts, and CRSST at 0.99%.