The Firetrail Alpha Plus Fund – Complex ETF (FIRE) — Review & Analysis

FIRE is Firetrail Investments' first ASX-listed product, with $8 million in assets as at May 2026. Firetrail launched FIRE on 4 March 2026 as a Complex ETF — the wrapper choice allows the underlying portfolio to take both long and short positions in Australian equities (a "130/30" style strategy). The management fee is 0.90% per annum plus performance fees, putting FIRE clearly in active-fund pricing territory. Firetrail is a well-regarded Australian equity boutique with a strong unlisted track record dating to 2018.

To compare FIRE side-by-side with every other ETF on the ASX, see the full ETF directory.

FIRE's strategy is long-short Australian equity — typically 130% gross long exposure offset by 30% short positions, netting to 100% market exposure. The Complex ETF designation allows the short-selling component. As at May 2026, the portfolio is concentrated in Firetrail's high-conviction Australian large-cap longs (similar to their unlisted Firetrail Absolute Return Fund) offset by individual stock shorts. The underlying unlisted version has delivered ~12-15% annualised returns net of fees since inception in 2018 — well above the VAS benchmark. Too new for ETF-level performance data.

FIRE pays distributions annually. The performance fee structure (typically 15% above a benchmark like the ASX 200) means total cost can rise significantly in strong years. The total expense ratio in strong years could exceed 2% — significantly higher than the 0.90% headline MER. The trade-off: in years where Firetrail generates real alpha, you keep the majority of the excess returns.

FIRE is a high-conviction satellite for investors who specifically believe in Firetrail's investment process and want long-short Australian equity exposure in ETF wrapper. See Active vs passive ETFs — the data that settles the debate.