CTA vs FFUT

CTABSimplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF

FFUTBFidelity Managed Futures ETF

In short

CTA Simplify didn't build its own trend models, it rented them. CTA runs systematic long/short futures programs from Altis Partners, a commodity trading advisor with 20-plus years in the chair, at the lowest fee in its peer group.

FFUT Fidelity's 2025 entry into managed futures: a systematic long-short model that rides price trends up or down across stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities. The fee sits at 0.80%, net of a waiver through May 31, 2027.

Stated mandate

CTA The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by systematically investing in futures to create an absolute return profile and capture price trends.

FFUT The fund seeks to capitalize on market trends through a disciplined, systematic long-short strategy. The filing indicates that the portfolio may use broad-based ETFs and futures contracts to pursue return characteristics similar to the Managed Futures sector.

Why people hold it

• CTA Charges 0.75% a year, undercutting every other fund in its managed-futures peer group, including DBMF at 0.85% and ASMF at 0.80%.simplify.us
• The engine is outsourced to Altis Partners, a commodity trading advisor with over 20 years of experience, running a suite of systematic models rather than a single signal.simplify.us
• Goes long or short across 50-plus markets: equity, Treasury, commodity and currency futures. The mandate targets absolute return with low correlation to stocks.simplify.usyahoo.com
• Pays monthly and trades actively, unusual plumbing for an alternatives sleeve.

• FFUT Trend signals run both ways, so the fund can be short bonds or long gold with equal ease across equity, fixed income, currency and commodity markets.sec.gov
• Commodity exposure runs through a wholly owned Cayman subsidiary, capped at 25% of assets, keeping it all inside a 1940 Act fund that sends a 1099, not a K-1.sec.gov
• At 0.80% net of a waiver through May 31, 2027, the fee lands near the middle of a small managed futures field rather than at the premium end alternatives often occupy.
• Returns come from trend signals rather than owning the market, which is why Fidelity pitches it as a diversifier alongside stocks and bonds.fidelity.com

Worth knowing

• CTA Trend systems need sustained moves to work with. Choppy, fast-reversing markets are where they struggle, so the ride is bumpier and less predictable than a plain index fund.
• Actively managed with no benchmark index to check it against, and commodity exposure runs through a wholly owned Cayman subsidiary that can hold up to 25% of assets.yahoo.comsimplify.us
• Launched in 2022, so the live record is short and spans only a handful of market regimes.

• FFUT Trades thinly, so bid-ask spreads can widen and larger orders may need patience.
• Cheaper trend options exist: JPFP charges 0.59% with no waiver, WTMF 0.66% net of a waiver through December 31, 2026.
• Launched in June 2025, so there is no multi-cycle record, and trend models can give back ground in choppy, directionless markets.

Full CTA profile⁠

Full FFUT profile⁠