Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF

Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF (CTA) is an actively managed fund that uses futures contracts to follow price trends in stocks, US Treasuries, commodities and currencies. It aims to profit when markets rise and, through short positions, when they fall. Most of its money sits in a Simplify money market ETF and Treasury bills that back those contracts. It charges 0.86% a year, and over the year to October 27, 2026, it tended to move opposite to stocks.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, CTA returned +16.7%, 1st of 8 among similar funds.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2023 (-2.2%); its best was 2024 (+24.2%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 20.8% (May 4, 2026 to Aug 4, 2026), not yet recovered.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 10 securities; the ten largest made up 96.75% of assets, and 2.81% sat in cash and money-market holdings.

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors added a net $231.5M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +7.92%, -10.58%, -9.45%.

CTA does not track an index. Its adviser, Simplify, runs a model-driven trend-following approach. Under normal conditions, at least 80% of net assets goes into futures on stocks, US Treasuries, commodities and currencies. That 80% is measured by notional value, meaning the full value of the contracts rather than the cash put down. A futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell an asset at a set price on a future date. Each month, the models compare recent returns over several look-back periods. Contracts that are trending up are generally held long. Contracts that are trending down may be held short, so the fund can gain when their prices fall.

Futures need only a small deposit, so most of the cash sits in short-term holdings that serve as collateral. As of June 30, 2026, about 79% of assets was in the affiliated Simplify Government Money Market ETF (SBIL) and about 18% was in US Treasury bills. The fund's 107 derivative positions included Canadian and UK government bond futures, live cattle and coffee. Before a contract expires, the fund rolls it, meaning it swaps it for one that expires later.

The fund gets its commodity exposure through a Cayman Islands subsidiary that can hold up to 25% of assets. That subsidiary lacks some of the investor protections of a registered US fund. The fund may also use swaps and reverse repurchase agreements, which work as short-term borrowing. Futures create leverage, which magnifies both gains and losses.

• CTA charges 0.86% a year, versus an average of 0.86% for the similar funds below (6th of 8, cheapest first).
• Of that, 0.75% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• The fee includes a 0.05% waiver from the adviser, which may end.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $88 in the first year and $1,112 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

Its trend-following futures strategy has tended to move opposite to stocks, with a beta of -0.54 over the year to October 27, 2026.

CTA's main appeal is that it behaves differently from stocks and bonds. It launched on March 7, 2022, so it has no record through the 2008 crisis, the 2020 crash or the full 2022 bear market. Its weakest calendar year was 2023, at -3.52%. Its deepest drop was -20.8%, from May 4 to August 4, 2026, and it had not recovered as of October 27, 2026. Over the past year it swung sharply, with annualized volatility of 24.7%. Anyone who had to sell during that slump would have locked in losses. The fund pays monthly, with a trailing yield of 5.53% as of October 27, 2026, though payouts can vary. Costs are 0.86% a year, or $1,112 over 10 years on $10,000 in the SEC's standard example. Past results don't predict future ones, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by other buffer (defined-outcome) funds, largest first.