Return Stacked Portfolio Solutions is in discussions with a possible partner about launching hedge fund-flavoured ETFs in Europe.
The rollout could begin as early as Q1 2026 if everything proceeds as hoped, said Rodrigo Gordillo, president and portfolio manager at ReSolve Asset Management Global, part of the team behind the offering.
Established in 2023, Return Stacked ETFs is a joint venture between ReSolve, a quantitative asset manager, and Newfound research, a data-driven research house.
Its 10 US and Canada-listed ETFs incorporate hedge fund strategies including managed futures, global macro and merger arbitrage. Canada-domiciled ETFs sidestep some of the tax considerations that can make US ETFs problematic for foreign investors.
Return stacking, a phrase coined for the project, is analogous to portable alpha, an institutional investment concept dating back to the 1990s. The idea is to ‘port’ alpha onto beta, delivering excess returns without giving up directional market exposure.
In the case of Return Stacked ETFs, $1 invested in the fund provides $1 worth of exposure to something generic like US stocks or bonds – the beta – and $1 to something aiming to beat cash like merger arbitrage – the alpha.
The $228m Return Stacked US Stocks & Managed Futures ETF (RSST), for example, offers 100% exposure to large cap US equities and 100% to a trend-following strategy.
Liquid alternatives like Return Stacked's ETFs still represent a nascent field within Europe’s ETF market but the area was described as the “next frontier” by Matteo Andreetto, senior managing director and head of intermediary client coverage, Europe at State Street Global Advisors (SSGA).
SSGA has partnered with Apollo Global Management and hedge fund Bridgewater Associates to deliver private credit and risk parity ETFs in the US. Neither strategy has been rolled out yet in Europe.
Other providers have made the plunge, however. In March, US alternatives manager DBi launched an ETF share class of a managed futures mutual fund – a well-known hedge fund strategy. It followed the first with an ex-commodities version just one month later.
Bob Elliott’s Unlimited is also “working in the direction” of a hedge fund ETF offering in Europe.
