Liquid Alternatives

The 60/40 portfolio was never broken — it was just incomplete. These funds combine traditional stock and bond exposure with systematic trend-following, managed futures, and tactical overlays inside a single ticker. Most use modest leverage or “return stacking” to deliver both market participation and downside management simultaneously, giving you 150–200% notional exposure without the concentrated risk of a single asset class.

For advisors rebuilding model portfolios, these can serve as a modernized core — replacing or supplementing a traditional balanced fund with one that has genuine diversification built into the wrapper itself. The key insight is that you no longer have to choose between growth and protection when the fund structure does both.

Clients want equity returns but can’t stomach equity drawdowns. These funds maintain meaningful market participation while layering on options overlays, hedging programs, or systematic risk management. They won’t beat the S&P in a straight-line rally — they’re designed to keep clients invested through volatility rather than panic-selling at the bottom.

The trade-off is hedging cost: you give up some upside for a smoother ride and fewer difficult conversations during corrections. Over a full market cycle, the math often works in your favor because avoiding large drawdowns reduces the recovery burden significantly.

Traditional bonds carry meaningful duration and inflation risk. These funds aim for bond-like stability and income using options spreads, volatility premiums, and alternative carry strategies — delivering a smoother ride than aggregate bond funds without relying on interest rates to cooperate.

“Bond-like” behavior doesn’t require owning bonds — it requires low volatility, consistent income, and low equity correlation. Options premium strategies and volatility harvesting can deliver all three, often with better risk-adjusted returns than duration-heavy fixed income in a volatile rate environment.

Satellite allocations that earn their place through low correlation and asymmetric return profiles. The managed futures and trend-following funds here deliver their best returns exactly when traditional portfolios suffer most, going long and short across global markets to profit from sustained moves in either direction. The leveraged commodity plays in corn, wheat, and copper give tactical advisors direct tools to express a specific view on grains or the electrification trade without trading futures themselves.

A 5-15% allocation can materially change a portfolio’s risk-return profile. Each fund addresses a specific gap in traditional construction: crisis-period diversification from trend, or precise exposure to real assets that move on their own supply-and-demand cycles rather than the stock market’s. The trend funds are built as long-term holds, while the 2x commodity products are tactical instruments meant for shorter horizons and a clear thesis.

Hedge funds built their reputation on uncorrelated returns, but the lockups, the 2-and-20 fees, and the minimums put them out of reach for most clients. These funds use systematic models to replicate how the hedge fund universe is positioned as a group, then deliver that exposure through liquid ETFs and futures. You get the diversification of equity long/short, global macro, or managed futures without surrendering control of your clients’ capital or their fee budget.

The honest trade-off is that replication tracks the crowd rather than chasing the single standout manager who beats it. You won’t capture the next breakout fund, but you also won’t pay for the dozens that underperform, and you keep daily liquidity the whole way through. For an allocation meant to diversify rather than swing for the fences, matching the category at a fraction of the cost sure feels right

Volatility is one asset class that can spike when everything else falls apart, which makes it one of the most direct hedges an investor can hold. These funds give you a clean way to express a view on vol itself, whether that’s harvesting the premium that pays out in calm markets, owning upside for the next shock, or turning the shape of the futures curve into monthly income. Each one isolates a different piece of the volatility trade.

The catch is that these are precision instruments, not set-and-forget holdings. The short-vol and long-vol products in particular are built for defined roles and short holding periods, and they can move violently against you if used the wrong way. Sized correctly, though, volatility’s payoff is convex right when you need it most.

Clients increasingly want digital asset exposure, but few advisors want to manage wallets, private keys, or an unregulated exchange. These funds deliver crypto through regulated futures inside a traditional brokerage account, spanning single-token access, leveraged tactical trades, and stacked structures that pair Bitcoin with hard assets like gold. The operational headache disappears while the price participation stays intact.

The thing to respect here is the difference between exposure and tools. The 1x funds can anchor a long-term allocation, but the 2x daily products reset every day and are built for short-term positioning, not buy-and-hold. Used with a clear thesis and disciplined sizing, this lineup lets you give clients the crypto exposure they’re asking for without the risk of it quietly becoming the largest position in the book.