A hedge-fund mimicking ETF that has trounced the S&P 500 this year and lured $1 billion of inflows along the way is taking the trade across the Atlantic — just as the trend-following strategy starts to cool.

Dynamic Beta investments and iM Global Partner is launching the iMGP DBi Managed Futures Fund, a European take on the US-listed DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF (ticker DBMF), according to a Tuesday press release.

The investing style takes long and short positions in the derivatives market in order to ride the momentum of asset prices — a big winner this year as the one-way inflation trade sparked consistent moves across currencies, stocks and bonds.

The original US strategy has returned a whopping 22% in 2022, boasting $1.05 billion in assets versus just $63 million a year ago, while the US equity benchmark has shed 14%.

The outlook for the trade is darkening, however, with markets facing a potential regime shift from a brewing economic downturn that undercuts inflation. The price of DBMF has already dropped about 9% from its year-to-date highs notched last month, as investors bet that rampant consumer price growth may have peaked.

While the new version isn't an ETF, it will follow the same strategy of seeking to replicate the pre-fee performance of a pool of hedge funds using a portfolio of futures contracts across assets.

"The success of our US domiciled ETF strategy (DBMF) has led to European clients asking if we are planning to launch a UCITS version and this is it," said Jamie Hammond, deputy CEO of iM Global Partner.

The Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities, or UCITS, is a regulatory framework in Europe for pooled investment vehicles that provide enhanced investor protections.

A formal launch for the fund is targeted for January, Hammond said.

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