Gotham Short Strategies ETF

Gotham Short Strategies ETF (SHRT) is a leveraged, actively managed long/short stock fund that aims to stay about 50% net short, meaning its bets against stocks, made through swaps, outweigh its long positions by about half its assets. It seeks gains in down markets through Gotham's valuation-based stock picks rather than an index, and charges 1.35% a year, versus 0.50% for Gotham 1000 Value ETF (GVLU), the most similar fund by holdings.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, SHRT returned -5.9%.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2024 (-1.5%); its best was 2025 (-0.9%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 27.9% (Aug 5, 2024 to Jun 30, 2026), not yet recovered.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 182 securities; the ten largest made up 17.58% of assets, and 13.74% sat in cash and money-market holdings.

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors withdrew a net $1.1M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: -10.62%, -2.85%, -4.55%.

SHRT does not track an index. Its sub-adviser, Gotham Asset Management, uses a systematic valuation process: analysts study each company's recurring earnings, cash flows, capital structure and valuation, and exclude firms with questionable financial reporting. The fund takes long positions in stocks that look undervalued and short positions (bets that a price will fall) in those that look overvalued, giving the biggest weights to stocks priced furthest below or above Gotham's estimate of value. It generally holds several hundred positions, mostly in US-traded companies.

Gotham aims to keep net exposure (long positions minus short positions) at about 50% net short, with gross exposure (longs plus shorts) generally at or below 250% of assets. The fund gets its short exposure, and may get long exposure, through swaps: contracts with a financial firm whose value tracks a basket of stocks Gotham selects. That adds counterparty risk, the chance the firm fails to pay. Shorting creates leverage, which magnifies swings in the fund's value, and a short can lose more than its starting value if the stock keeps rising.

The portfolio is rebalanced, generally daily, to hold those targets and reflect new company information, so trading is heavy: the prospectus reports turnover of 685%. Unlike an inverse ETF, SHRT does not promise a set multiple of an index's daily return.

• SHRT charges 1.35% a year, versus an average of 0.5% for the similar funds below.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $137 in the first year and $1,624 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It is a leveraged, roughly 50% net-short stock fund with a 1.35% expense ratio and an uneven record, so any role would likely be a small hedge alongside core holdings.

SHRT could act as a hedge: its beta (market sensitivity) was -0.53 for the year to October 27, 2026, so it tended to move against stocks. Its prospectus record, which starts before the ETF's November 2023 launch, shows a 39.68% gain in 2022, a bear-market year, but a 26.29% loss in 2020, its worst calendar year; no 2008 figures are available. Its deepest drop as an ETF, 27.9% from August 5, 2024, to June 30, 2026, had not recovered by October 27, 2026. Its weak years may come when stocks rise, so withdrawals then could lock in losses.

Income is minimal: the yield was 0.07% as of October 27, 2026, paid annually. Costs are high: 1.35% a year, or $1,624 over 10 years on $10,000 in the SEC's standard example. Past results don't predict future ones, and a plan should weigh the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.