ARB vs NTRL

ARBBAltShares Merger Arbitrage ETF

NTRLCFirst Trust Merger Arbitrage ETF

In short

ARB Merger arb, the hedge fund classic, rendered as index rules: go long announced takeover targets, short the acquirer in stock-for-stock deals, hedge the currency. Run by Water Island Capital, which has been doing this since 2000.

NTRL NTRL launched in 2020 chasing merger-arbitrage spreads on announced takeovers. Per First Trust, it converts on June 24, 2026 to a plain U.S. equity mandate built with stocks, ETFs and derivatives. Same ticker, different engine.

Stated mandate

ARB 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.

NTRL After converting from the First Trust Merger Arbitrage ETF on June 24, 2026, NTRL seeks capital appreciation through at least 80% exposure to U.S.-listed equity securities, implemented through derivatives, ETFs, and/or stocks.

Why people hold it

• ARB No side project: Water Island Capital has run a merger arbitrage fund since September 2000, and ARB tracks an index built by its affiliate on the same deal-spread playbook.sec.govsec.gov 2
• When a deal pays in acquirer stock, the index shorts that stock at the deal's exchange ratio, aiming to lock in the spread instead of riding the acquirer's share price.sec.gov
• Foreign targets bring foreign currency. The index is hedged back to the US dollar, so a euro or pound swing is dampened rather than passed straight into returns.sec.gov
• Rules, not hunches: the index reconstitutes and rebalances twice a month and generally expects 30-50 targets, so new deals enter and completed ones exit on a set schedule.sec.gov

• NTRL The new mandate is explicit: from the June 24, 2026 conversion, at least 80% of assets sit in U.S.-listed equity exposure, expressed through stocks, ETFs or derivatives.ftportfolios.com
• A live record dating to the February 2020 launch, so this is a seasoned fund wearing a new strategy rather than a brand-new ticker.
• Flexible plumbing: the equity exposure can be built with derivatives or other ETFs, not only individual stocks.ftportfolios.com

Worth knowing

• ARB Fee is 0.82%, near the category median and above MNA's 0.78% and MRGR's 0.75% (net of a waiver through September 30, 2027; 2.03% gross).
• Thinly traded next to mainstream ETFs, so bid-ask spreads can run wider. Distributions come annually or semiannually, not monthly.
• Deal spreads are narrow by design and a collapsed merger stings. The hedges address acquirer stock and currency, not the chance a deal falls apart.sec.gov

• NTRL 0.95% a year sits above the merger-arb crowd, where MNA, MRGR and ARB all charge roughly 0.75%.
• A small fund that trades thinly, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than in heavily traded ETFs and sizable orders need care.
• The pre-conversion history came from deal-spread arbitrage, not equity market exposure, so it says little about how the fund behaves after the switch.

Full ARB profile⁠

Full NTRL profile⁠