# IMOM ETF: fees, returns, drawdowns and holdings

> What IMOM holds, its 0.38% yearly fee, returns by year, its worst drop, and which Tactfolio strategies hold it. Updated daily.

Alpha Architect International Quantitative Momentum ETF (IMOM) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by Alpha Architect. This fund owns about 50 stocks from developed countries outside the US and Canada, such as Japan and countries in Europe. It charges 0.38% a year. From December 2015 to October 2026 it returned about 6.1% a year, and its worst drop was −45.7%.

Written by [the Tactfolio research team](https://tactfolio.com/about/editorial-policy). Fund facts checked October 16, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.

## Key points

- Expense ratio: 0.38% a year (about $38 on $10,000).
- Started trading on December 22, 2015.
- Last close: $38.65 on October 16, 2026.
- Return over the last year: 10.2%.
- Worst drop since 2015: −45.7%.
- 2 Tactfolio classic strategies hold it.

## How has IMOM done since 2015?

From December 2015 to October 2026, IMOM returned about 6.1% a year. The S&P 500 returned about 14.7% a year over the same dates. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $18,890 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

| Period | IMOM | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 month | −4.1% | 1.5% |
| 3 months | −6.6% | 1.9% |
| 6 months | −11.7% | 9.3% |
| Year to date | 1.4% | 12.8% |
| 1 year | 10.2% | 16.8% |
| 3 years, per year | 20.3% | 22.0% |
| 5 years, per year | 5.7% | 12.8% |
| 10 years, per year | 6.7% | 15.4% |
| Since 2015, per year | 6.1% | 14.7% |

Periods longer than a year show the return per year (CAGR). Prices through October 16, 2026. Figures use daily closing prices adjusted for splits, with dividends reinvested. They do not include taxes or the cost of buying and selling. Past results do not tell you what will happen next.

## IMOM returns by month and year

IMOM rose in 78 of its 130 months (60%). Its best month was November 2020, at 12.3%. Its worst was March 2020, at −14.1%.

| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Full year |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 (part) | 8.9% | 9.0% | −12.0% | 11.8% | 3.0% | −5.6% | −6.6% | 2.3% | −2.4% | −4.2% |  |  | 1.4% |
| 2025 | 5.5% | 0.9% | −0.1% | 6.9% | 6.2% | 6.0% | −2.3% | 4.3% | 5.9% | −0.6% | 3.8% | 3.3% | 47.2% |
| 2024 | 3.7% | 3.8% | 2.8% | −6.2% | 5.8% | −4.6% | 2.0% | 2.0% | 0.2% | −3.6% | 1.7% | −1.7% | 5.2% |
| 2023 | 5.1% | −0.8% | 1.9% | 0.1% | −5.6% | 3.4% | 2.2% | −2.7% | −4.5% | −3.4% | 10.7% | 3.6% | 9.2% |
| 2022 | −11.8% | −2.4% | 1.0% | −6.4% | 0.4% | −10.9% | 7.2% | −2.6% | −11.2% | 5.6% | 11.4% | −1.8% | −21.9% |
| 2021 | 0.9% | −1.9% | −1.4% | 4.0% | −0.9% | 0.0% | 4.4% | 2.3% | −7.9% | 3.2% | −3.7% | 0.9% | −0.8% |
| 2020 | −2.1% | −8.6% | −14.1% | 10.6% | 10.7% | 4.1% | 3.4% | 4.3% | 1.2% | −2.1% | 12.3% | 9.1% | 28.4% |
| 2019 | 7.2% | 1.1% | 2.6% | 0.7% | −3.2% | 5.0% | −1.0% | −0.8% | −0.1% | 1.1% | 1.8% | 2.9% | 18.3% |
| 2018 | 6.2% | −3.2% | −0.6% | −3.8% | 3.3% | −5.7% | 0.9% | −3.6% | 1.2% | −12.9% | 0.4% | −6.7% | −23.1% |
| 2017 | 5.3% | 0.5% | 3.8% | 2.2% | 3.0% | −0.8% | 4.5% | 2.1% | 2.7% | 4.4% | 0.9% | 2.0% | 34.8% |
| 2016 | −6.7% | −3.4% | 3.9% | 4.1% | 0.8% | 3.3% | 4.6% | −6.2% | 2.2% | −4.8% | −4.8% | −2.0% | −9.7% |
| 2015 (part) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 0.0% |

Each month runs from the last close of the month before. The first month counts from the first close.

## How risky is IMOM compared with the S&P 500?

Measured from October 2021 to October 2026, on the days both traded.

- **Beta 0.83.** When the S&P 500 moved 1% in a day, IMOM tended to move about 0.83%.
- **Correlation 0.70.** IMOM moved with the S&P 500 some of the time.
- **Up and down months.** In months the S&P 500 rose, IMOM rose 79% as much on average. In months it fell, IMOM fell 98% as much.

| Measure | IMOM | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Return per year | 5.8% | 12.8% |
| Volatility | 20.2% | 17.1% |
| Worst drop | −35.4% | −24.5% |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.38 | 0.79 |
| Sortino ratio | 0.54 | 1.15 |
| Calmar ratio | 0.16 | 0.52 |

Volatility is how much the price swings in a year. The Sharpe ratio is return per unit of volatility, the Sortino ratio counts only the falls, and the Calmar ratio is the return per year over the worst drop. Higher ratios mean more return for the risk taken.

## Is IMOM above its 200-day average?

IMOM closed 8.4% below its 200-day average on October 16, 2026. A rule that holds IMOM only above that average would be out of it today.

- Its 50-day average is 3.3% below its 200-day average.
- It closed 16.2% below its highest close of the last 52 weeks.

A moving average is the average close over the last so many days. Trend rules such as [the 10-month moving average strategy](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/faber-10-month-moving-average.md) hold a fund only while it is above one. You can [build that rule for IMOM](https://tactfolio.com/builder) and backtest it in a minute.

## What was IMOM's worst drop?

A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. IMOM's worst fall was −45.7%, from January 29, 2018 to March 18, 2020. It got back to that high on December 1, 2020. On October 16, 2026 it was 16.2% below its highest close.

| Drop | Started | Bottom | Back to the high | Fall took | Recovery took |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −45.7% | Jan 29, 2018 | Mar 18, 2020 | Dec 1, 2020 | 2.1 years | 8 months |
| −39.3% | Sep 15, 2021 | Sep 30, 2022 | Jun 24, 2025 | 12 months | 2.7 years |
| −16.8% | May 26, 2026 | Jul 29, 2026 | Not yet | 2 months | n/a |
| −16.5% | Jul 29, 2016 | Dec 23, 2016 | Jun 2, 2017 | 5 months | 5 months |
| −16.2% | Feb 16, 2021 | Mar 8, 2021 | Sep 7, 2021 | 20 days | 6 months |

Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.

## What does IMOM hold?

This fund owns about 50 stocks from developed countries outside the US and Canada, such as Japan and countries in Europe. A set of rules picks the ones with strong price gains over the past year, which is called momentum. Its results can differ a lot from the overall international market.

It does not track an index. Its managers choose what it holds. It had 50 holdings as of October 16, 2026, according to Alpha Architect.

| Fact | IMOM |
| --- | --- |
| Full name | Alpha Architect International Quantitative Momentum ETF |
| Issuer | Alpha Architect |
| Expense ratio | 0.38% a year |
| Started trading | December 22, 2015 |
| Tracks | No index (actively managed) |
| Type | International stocks, ETF |
| Holdings | 50 holdings as of October 16, 2026 |
| Facts checked | October 16, 2026 on the [Alpha Architect fund page](https://funds.alphaarchitect.com/imom/) |

## What is the IMOM expense ratio?

IMOM charges 0.38% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.38% fee comes to about $38 a year. Of the 162 ETFs on Tactfolio, 15% charge more.

You never get a bill for it. The fund takes the fee out of its own value a little each day.

## Which Tactfolio strategies hold IMOM?

2 classic strategies hold IMOM at least some of the time. Each is a set of written rules you can open, test and copy.

- [Robust Asset Allocation Balanced (Alpha Architect RAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/robust-asset-allocation-balanced.md), by Wesley Gray (Alpha Architect), 2014
- [Robust Asset Allocation Aggressive (Alpha Architect RAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/robust-asset-allocation-aggressive.md), by Wesley Gray (Alpha Architect), 2014

## How does IMOM compare with similar ETFs?

Funds that can stand in for IMOM:

- [SCHF](https://tactfolio.com/etf/SCHF.md): Schwab International Equity ETF, 0.03% a year
- [VEA](https://tactfolio.com/etf/VEA.md): Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF, 0.03% a year
- [IEFA](https://tactfolio.com/etf/IEFA.md): iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF, 0.07% a year
- [EFA](https://tactfolio.com/etf/EFA.md): iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, 0.32% a year

See [all 7 IMOM alternatives](https://tactfolio.com/alternatives/IMOM.md), compared on the same dates as IMOM.

## Test IMOM in your own rules

Tactfolio is a platform where you build rules-based investing strategies, backtest them on decades of real prices, share them, and run them automatically in your own Alpaca account. Open the [builder](https://tactfolio.com/builder), add IMOM, and see how a rule such as "hold it only above its 200-day average" would have done. Strategies run on daily prices and hold US stocks and ETFs only.

## The details

Prices come from Tactfolio's stored daily prices for IMOM and SPY. Each close is adjusted for splits, and dividends are reinvested on the day the fund pays them out. CAGR is the steady yearly return that turns the starting value into the ending value. Volatility is the yearly standard deviation of daily returns. Beta and correlation compare daily returns with the S&P 500 over the same dates.

Fund facts come from Alpha Architect. We checked them on October 16, 2026. Read [what a backtest simulates](https://tactfolio.com/docs/backtests.md) and [how to read drawdown and CAGR](https://tactfolio.com/docs/concepts/reading-a-backtest.md) for more on these measures.

## Research and test it

- [Momentum stocks](https://tactfolio.com/learn/momentum-stocks): Momentum stocks are recent winners that tend to keep winning for a while.
- [What is an ETF](https://tactfolio.com/learn/what-is-an-etf): An ETF is a fund that trades like a stock. Learn how ETFs work, what they cost, the main types, and the risks, with SEC sources.
- [Momentum strategy](https://tactfolio.com/learn/momentum-strategy): A momentum strategy buys recent winners by a written rule.
- [ETF screener](https://tactfolio.com/screener.md): A free ETF screener for 162 US-listed funds. Filter by type, issuer and fee, sort by returns or worst drop, and compare funds side by side.
- [ETF expense ratio](https://tactfolio.com/learn/etf-expense-ratio): What an ETF expense ratio is, how the fund charges it, and how 0.03% vs 1% adds up over 10 and 30 years, with real fund examples.
- [Backtest a portfolio](https://tactfolio.com/trading-tools/backtest-portfolio): Backtest a portfolio of US stocks and ETFs. Enter tickers and shares, pick when to rebalance, and get the results with a link to share.

## Common questions

### What is the expense ratio of IMOM?

IMOM charges 0.38% a year, according to Alpha Architect as of October 16, 2026. That is about $38 a year for every $10,000 you hold.

### When did IMOM start trading?

IMOM started trading on December 22, 2015. It is run by Alpha Architect.

### What does IMOM track?

IMOM does not track an index. Its managers choose what it holds.

### How much has IMOM returned per year?

From December 2015 to October 2026, IMOM returned about 6.1% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −45.7%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.

### Is IMOM above its 200-day moving average?

On October 16, 2026, IMOM closed 8.4% below its 200-day moving average. This page updates after each US market close.

### Which strategies use IMOM?

2 of Tactfolio's classic strategies hold IMOM, including Robust Asset Allocation Balanced (Alpha Architect RAA), Robust Asset Allocation Aggressive (Alpha Architect RAA).

## Sources

- [Alpha Architect: Alpha Architect International Quantitative Momentum ETF fund page](https://funds.alphaarchitect.com/imom/)

> Not financial advice. Tactfolio is a research and automation tool. It is not a broker or a financial adviser. This page is for education only. Backtests are hypothetical. They show how rules would have done on past prices, not how they will do. All investing involves risk, including losing the money you put in.