by RCM Alternatives

We can't believe 2017 is almost over. That means it's time to look at the winners and losers of the past year. Since we specialize in most things deemed “alternative” in the investment space, here's a look at the top 10 “Alternative ETFs” via ETF.com. As a disclaimer, we will say that most things labeled alternative are alternative in name only and don't truly find returns unique to the rest of your portfolio.

(Disclaimer: Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results) Source: ETF.com

We knew VIX ETFs were all the rage in 2017; five of the 10 Top Alternative ETFs are short VIX products! The first place non-VIX product (and long-short equity ETF which we really don't consider as an alternative) made 20% on the year, a successful year by just about anyone's definition. But when you consider a short VIX ETF made almost 10x times the best non-VIX product, it's easy to see why people continue to flood into the VIX market.

Now, for the worst Alternative ETFs of 2017.

(Disclaimer: Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results) Source: ETF.com

…and all 10 of the worst Alternative ETFs are long VIX products and short-term products. Granted, in their descriptions, most say these products are not meant to be long-term investments. Seeing a spread between -47% to -93% of long VIX products shows just how important it is to understand how these strategies are packaged.

What about Managed Futures products only? There is only a handful of Managed Futures ETFs out there, so we decided to look at the top and bottom performers of Managed Futures Mutual Funds based on Morningstar's category. Here's the top 10:

(Disclaimer: Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. We filtered this list to only list one fund per manager.) Source: Morningstar

And the bottom Managed Futures Mutual Funds: