Key Takeaways
- • YCharts published its September 2026 Liquid Alt Fund Leaderboard, updated October 13, 2026, ranking the largest and best-performing liquid alternative funds using its Fund Screener across a universe of more than 90,000 funds.
- • Rankings use share class AUM (largest funds, as of September 30, 2026) and one-year price returns (best performers), with the screener's broad category set to "Alternative Strategies" and SMAs excluded.
- • According to YCharts, a $10,000 investment one year earlier in any of the top ten best-performing liquid alt funds would have beaten the S&P 500 by at least roughly 3x, with the Zcash ETF (ZCSH), Direxion Daily MU Bull 2X ETF (MUU) and GraniteShares 2x Long MU Daily ETF (MULL) leading, each returning at least $175,000.
- • The leaderboard includes monthly, three-month and one-year AUM flow data plus net expense ratios and one-year price returns for the largest leveraged and inverse ETFs.
Summary
YCharts released its Liquid Alt Fund Leaderboard for September 2026, updated as of October 13, 2026, positioning listed alternatives as a complement to private alternatives. The publisher argues that liquid alternatives have gained attention for their advantages in liquidity, transparency and cost efficiency relative to private counterparts, and that alternatives are being actively allocated to by advisors.
The leaderboard was compiled with the YCharts Fund Screener, which covers more than 90,000 funds. The largest liquid alt funds are ranked by share class assets under management as of September 30, 2026, and the best performers are ranked by one-year price return over the same period. The screener's broad category was set to "Alternative Strategies" and excludes separately managed accounts (SMAs). The publisher says the lists are intended to give advisors investment candidates for consideration, and the article is explicitly framed as research rather than a recommendation.
The top-performer analysis highlights the compounding effect of leverage in the sector. According to YCharts, a $10,000 investment one year earlier in any of the top ten best-performing liquid alt funds would have outperformed the S&P 500 by a minimum of nearly three times. The Zcash ETF (ZCSH), Direxion Daily MU Bull 2X ETF (MUU) and GraniteShares 2x Long MU Daily ETF (MULL) led the group, with each of these funds returning at least $175,000 on the $10,000 investment over the twelve months.
The data set also includes AUM flows over one month, three months and one year, along with net expense ratios and one-year price returns for the largest leveraged and inverse ETFs. Visual exports are available through YCharts, and the publication includes a standard disclaimer stating that YCharts is not a registered investment adviser and that the report does not constitute investment advice.
The leaderboard was compiled with the YCharts Fund Screener, which covers more than 90,000 funds. The largest liquid alt funds are ranked by share class assets under management as of September 30, 2026, and the best performers are ranked by one-year price return over the same period. The screener's broad category was set to "Alternative Strategies" and excludes separately managed accounts (SMAs). The publisher says the lists are intended to give advisors investment candidates for consideration, and the article is explicitly framed as research rather than a recommendation.
The top-performer analysis highlights the compounding effect of leverage in the sector. According to YCharts, a $10,000 investment one year earlier in any of the top ten best-performing liquid alt funds would have outperformed the S&P 500 by a minimum of nearly three times. The Zcash ETF (ZCSH), Direxion Daily MU Bull 2X ETF (MUU) and GraniteShares 2x Long MU Daily ETF (MULL) led the group, with each of these funds returning at least $175,000 on the $10,000 investment over the twelve months.
The data set also includes AUM flows over one month, three months and one year, along with net expense ratios and one-year price returns for the largest leveraged and inverse ETFs. Visual exports are available through YCharts, and the publication includes a standard disclaimer stating that YCharts is not a registered investment adviser and that the report does not constitute investment advice.
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