Momentum trade cracks: $MTUM's worst day since March 2020, down 27% from peak

The momentum trade just got hammered. The MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF, $MTUM, fell 8.2% on Thursday, according to Kobeissi Letter — its biggest single-day drop since March 16, 2020, and the third-largest since the fund launched in April 2013.

The pain isn't a one-day affair. $MTUM has shed 16% across the last five trading sessions alone, landing at its lowest level since April 7th.

Zoom out and the damage deepens. From its June peak, the fund is down 27% — a drawdown that already outruns the 25% slide it took between February and April 2025.

That reversal lands hard because of what came before it. $MTUM had climbed 38% from the start of 2026 to its June 22nd peak, a run that made the strategy look untouchable.

Now the same crowded positioning is doing the damage on the way down. As Kobeissi Letter put it, the momentum trade is experiencing historic volatility.