Two New ETFs Track Hedge Funds, Pay 15%
My database of option strategy ETFs now tops 120 funds including many funds from different companies that duplicate their competitors. My interest piques when a fund sponsor develops a unique strategy. Recently, VistaShares launched a couple of ETFs that offer high yields and aim to track returns from famous hedge funds.
The VistaShares Target 15 ACKtivist Distribution ETF (ACKY) launched on September 9, 2025. The ACKY equity portfolio generally mirrors the top publicly disclosed holdings of William Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital, a prominent hedge fund. To achieve the targeted 15% distribution yield, VistaShares managers implement a data-driven options strategy…which is saying something without saying much.
The returns of ACKY should be driven by how well Ackman’s hedge fund performs. According to the hedge fund’s website, as of December 31, 2025, the fund’s one, three, and ten-year NAV returns were 20.9%, 93.5%, and 323.5%, respectively. If the ACKY ETF can capture a significant portion of hedge fund returns, plus 15% of options premium dividends, this ETF could be a winner.
Also launched on October 8, 2025, was the VistaShares Target 15 DRUKMacro Distribution ETF (DRKY). The fund has an equity portfolio that generally mirrors the top publicly disclosed holdings of the Duquesne Family Office, the private investment firm of Stanley Druckenmiller, employing a discretionary global macroeconomic strategy. Like the other VistaShares Target 15 ETFs, DRKY will employ options trading to generate a 15% distribution yield.
According to the HedgeFollow website, the Druckenmiller fund has a three-year annualized return of 45.29%, giving a cumulative three-year return of 206.7%. The returns are based on the fund’s top 20 holdings.
As with ACKY, it will be interesting to see how much of the hedge fund’s returns are captured by DRKY. Plus, you get the 15% distribution yield.
Covered call options cap the potential returns on an underlying stock. These funds write/sell call options on the stocks in the portfolios. From my experience, targeting a 15% cash return from call option writing should leave a decent level of upside potential.
The two ETFs are too new to get a picture of their performance potential. As time goes on, I will compare how these funds perform against more common QQQ-based covered call ETFs.
This post originally appeared at Investors Alley.
Category: Dividend Yield
