Alpha Architect U.S. Quantitative Momentum ETF (QMOM)
$71.37−1.73%close of Oct 16, 2026
Alpha Architect U.S. Quantitative Momentum ETF (QMOM) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by Alpha Architect. This fund owns a small group of US stocks, recently about 64, that a set of rules picks for strong price gains over the past year, which is called momentum. It charges 0.28% a year. From December 2015 to October 2026 it returned about 10.7% a year, and its worst drop was −39.1%.
Written by the Tactfolio research team. Fund facts checked October 16, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.
- Yearly fee
- 0.28%
- about $28 on $10,000
- 1-year return
- 11.7%
- to Oct 16, 2026
- Return per year
- 10.7%
- since December 2015
- Worst drop
- −39.1%
- since 2015
- Below its high
- −12.6%
- now
- Volatility
- 26.2%
- yearly swings
- Issuer
- Alpha Architect
- Tracks
- No index (actively managed)
- Started trading
- December 1, 2015
- Type
- US stocks, ETF
- Holdings
- 64 holdings as of October 16, 2026
- Expense ratio
- 0.28% a year
How has QMOM done since 2015?#
From December 2015 to October 2026, QMOM returned about 10.7% a year. The S&P 500 returned about 14.5% a year over the same dates. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $30,171 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.
| Period | QMOM | S&P 500 (SPY) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 month | −1.1% | 1.5% |
| 3 months | −3.0% | 1.9% |
| 6 months | −4.5% | 9.3% |
| Year to date | 9.3% | 12.8% |
| 1 year | 11.7% | 16.8% |
| 3 years per year | 20.0% | 22.0% |
| 5 years per year | 8.2% | 12.8% |
| 10 years per year | 12.2% | 15.4% |
| Since 2015 per year | 10.7% | 14.5% |
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.
QMOM returns by month and year#
QMOM rose in 69 of its 131 months (53%). Its best month was April 2020, at 18.4%. Its worst was March 2020, at −19.2%.
| Year | Total | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 9.3% | 4.0 | 7.8 | −6.6 | 12.3 | 4.8 | −2.1 | −6.3 | −0.9 | −1.3 | −1.0 | ||
| 2025 | 2.4% | 5.9 | −8.2 | −4.8 | −0.9 | 4.8 | 5.4 | −1.8 | −1.4 | 2.4 | 4.5 | −2.8 | 0.3 |
| 2024 | 30.4% | 3.3 | 10.8 | 3.6 | −5.3 | 5.6 | −1.4 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 3.8 | −0.6 | 12.2 | −9.1 |
| 2023 | 9.5% | 1.3 | −1.9 | −1.2 | −3.0 | −1.3 | 7.7 | 1.2 | −3.0 | −5.4 | −4.8 | 13.6 | 7.9 |
| 2022 | −7.0% | −6.4 | 1.1 | 4.1 | −5.8 | 3.7 | −12.0 | 9.5 | 3.0 | −7.8 | 15.7 | −0.8 | −7.9 |
| 2021 | −4.1% | 10.4 | −1.9 | −7.9 | 2.3 | −6.0 | 2.3 | −5.0 | 4.1 | −2.9 | 6.5 | −3.0 | −1.2 |
| 2020 | 61.9% | 6.1 | −6.3 | −19.2 | 18.4 | 12.3 | 3.0 | 12.9 | 3.9 | 0.6 | −4.2 | 18.2 | 10.2 |
| 2019 | 28.4% | 12.1 | 3.6 | 0.7 | 3.3 | −2.7 | 5.8 | 5.6 | −1.0 | −8.3 | 1.3 | 7.7 | −1.1 |
| 2018 | −11.8% | 7.1 | −2.2 | −0.1 | −2.3 | 7.2 | −2.1 | 1.1 | 9.2 | 0.4 | −16.2 | −3.3 | −8.3 |
| 2017 | 15.9% | 3.4 | 1.8 | −1.6 | −0.2 | −2.6 | −0.2 | 5.3 | −0.3 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.7 | −1.9 |
| 2016 | 4.9% | −8.0 | 0.3 | 3.7 | 0.5 | 3.0 | −1.1 | 6.1 | −1.7 | 2.1 | −3.3 | 5.1 | −1.1 |
| 2015 | −5.1% | −5.1 |
Each month runs from the last close of the month before. The first month counts from the first close.
How risky is QMOM compared with the S&P 500?#
Measured from October 2021 to October 2026, on the days both traded.
- Beta 1.08. When the S&P 500 moved 1% in a day, QMOM tended to move about 1.08%.
- Correlation 0.76. QMOM moved with the S&P 500 some of the time.
- Up and down months. In months the S&P 500 rose, QMOM rose 92% as much on average. In months it fell, QMOM fell 109% as much.
| Measure | QMOM | S&P 500 (SPY) |
|---|---|---|
| Return per year | 7.9% | 12.8% |
| Volatility | 24.3% | 17.1% |
| Worst drop | −26.8% | −24.5% |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.44 | 0.79 |
| Sortino ratio | 0.61 | 1.15 |
| Calmar ratio | 0.29 | 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 QMOM above its 200-day average?#
QMOM closed 3.2% below its 200-day average on October 16, 2026. A rule that holds QMOM only above that average would be out of it today.
- vs 200-day average
- −3.2%
- below it
- 50-day vs 200-day
- +0.4%
- trend rising
- vs 52-week high
- −12.6%
- high of $81.69
A moving average is the average close over the last so many days. Trend rules such as the 10-month moving average strategy hold a fund only while it is above one. You can build that rule for QMOM and backtest it in a minute.
What was QMOM’s worst drop?#
A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. QMOM’s worst fall was −39.1%, from February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020. It got back to that high on July 6, 2020. On October 16, 2026 it was 12.6% below its highest close.
| Drop | From the high | To the bottom | Back to the high |
|---|---|---|---|
| −39.1% | Feb 19, 2020 | Mar 23, 202033 days | Jul 6, 20203 months |
| −38.9% | Feb 12, 2021 | Oct 26, 20232.7 years | Oct 11, 202412 months |
| −31.9% | Sep 13, 2018 | Dec 24, 20183 months | Jan 13, 202013 months |
| −26.5% | Nov 26, 2024 | Apr 8, 20254 months | Jan 15, 20269 months |
| −22.1% | Dec 4, 2015 | Feb 8, 20162 months | Sep 22, 20167 months |
Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.
What does QMOM hold?#
This fund owns a small group of US stocks, recently about 64, that a set of rules picks for strong price gains over the past year, which is called momentum. Its mix can look very different from the S&P 500. Its results can differ a lot from the overall market.
It does not track an index. Its managers choose what it holds. It had 64 holdings as of October 16, 2026, according to Alpha Architect.
What is the QMOM expense ratio?#
QMOM charges 0.28% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.28% fee comes to about $28 a year. Of the 162 ETFs on Tactfolio, 27% 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 QMOM?#
2 classic strategies hold QMOM 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), by Wesley Gray (Alpha Architect), 2014
- Robust Asset Allocation Aggressive (Alpha Architect RAA), by Wesley Gray (Alpha Architect), 2014
How does QMOM compare with similar ETFs?#
Funds that can stand in for QMOM:
- MTUM: iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF, 0.15% a year
- PDP: Invesco Dorsey Wright Momentum ETF, 0.62% a year
- VUG: Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF, 0.03% a year
- SCHG: Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF, 0.04% a year
See all 8 QMOM alternatives, compared on the same dates as QMOM.
Test QMOM 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, add QMOM, 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 QMOM 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 and how to read drawdown and CAGR for more on these measures.
Common questions#
What is the expense ratio of QMOM?#
QMOM charges 0.28% a year, according to Alpha Architect as of October 16, 2026. That is about $28 a year for every $10,000 you hold.
When did QMOM start trading?#
QMOM started trading on December 1, 2015. It is run by Alpha Architect.
What does QMOM track?#
QMOM does not track an index. Its managers choose what it holds.
How much has QMOM returned per year?#
From December 2015 to October 2026, QMOM returned about 10.7% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −39.1%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.
Is QMOM above its 200-day moving average?#
On October 16, 2026, QMOM closed 3.2% below its 200-day moving average. This page updates after each US market close.
Which strategies use QMOM?#
2 of Tactfolio’s classic strategies hold QMOM, including Robust Asset Allocation Balanced (Alpha Architect RAA), Robust Asset Allocation Aggressive (Alpha Architect RAA).