##  [# What Traditional Momentum Strategies Miss ](/sections/podcasts/what-traditional-momentum-strategies-miss) 

 

# What Traditional Momentum Strategies Miss 

 

 

Momentum is the factor most often associated with performance chasing, but that’s a narrative MarketDesk is looking to change with the [**MarketDesk Focused U.S. Momentum ETF (FMTM)**](https://www.etf.com/FMTM)**.** Find out how the fund’s approach leads to a drastically different portfolio overlap with the S&P 500 than traditional momentum ETFs in this episode of *Behind the Ticker.*



 

 

 

 

 [![BehindThetickerImage_V2](/sites/default/files/styles/author_image_icon/public/2026-01/BehindThetickerImage.png?itok=OVcBTS2u "BehindThetickerImage_V2")](/authors/behind-ticker) 

[By Behind The Ticker](/authors/behind-ticker)

 Jun 03, 2026

 Edited by: ETF.com Staff

 

 

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In this episode of *Behind the Ticker,* Brad Roth, CIO of Thor Financial Technologies, sits down with Jon Clements, Managing Director and Co-founder of MarketDesk Research, to talk the [**MarketDesk Focused U.S. Momentum ETF (FMTM)**](https://www.etf.com/FMTM)**.** Their discussion covers how MarketDesk approaches momentum investing, the differentiated portfolio its strategy yields compared to traditional momentum ETFs, risk-management, and more.

This conversation is also available in video form [**here**](https://www.etf.com/sections/podcasts/behind-ticker-fmtm-marketdesk) or on our [**YouTube**](https://youtu.be/naEs-oAFO7Q). You can find the audio version on [**Spotify**,](https://open.spotify.com/episode/0xiUlIRyLdEbxbX2qw0N3Y?si=f0cfc00a5e0841ae) [**Apple Podcasts**](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/why-most-momentum-funds-are-looking-at-the-wrong-data/id1682702118?i=1000770387003), or any of your preferred streaming platforms.

## What’s in This Episode

- **From Research Platform to ETF Issuer:** Jon Clements co-founded MarketDesk Research in 2020 after stints at Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Guggenheim, building a quantitative research and model portfolio platform serving ~200 wealth managers and family offices. The ETF wrapper was a natural evolution, solving the tax inefficiency of a high-turnover strategy and automating a manual trading process clients had been running themselves for years.
- **How FMTM is Built:** The fund starts with a high-liquidity US equity universe ($1B+ market cap, $25M+/day in volume), runs a quality screen down to ~300 names, then ranks those on six months of price data and holds the top 30–50 on an equal-weight basis. The six-month lookback keeps the signal fresher and reduces the lag that burned traditional momentum strategies in 2008, 2022, and the dot-com unwind.
- **What Makes It Different:** Unlike legacy momentum products that rank stocks purely on trailing return, FMTM scores the quality and consistency of the price path, favoring slow and steady accumulation over single-event spikes. That design choice, combined with equal weighting and a concentrated portfolio, produces a roughly 2% overlap with the S&amp;P 500, compared to 30–40% for traditional momentum ETFs.
- **Risk Management and Who It's For:** FMTM stays fully invested with no cash, shorts, or hedging overlays; all risk management is handled through holdings selection, leaning on relative momentum to find defensive pockets during drawdowns. Advisors use it as a satellite alongside core S&amp;P exposure, as a complement to existing momentum funds given the minimal overlap, or in some cases as a primary growth-oriented holding.

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*Disclaimer: The market insights, projections, and investment strategies expressed in this article are solely those of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of* [*ETF.com*](http://etf.com/)*. This content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice.*



 

 

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 Related Topics  [Momentum](http://www.etf.com/topics/momentum) 

 [Advisor Center](http://www.etf.com/topics/advisor-center-0) 

 [Equity](http://www.etf.com/topics/equity)