Meta, Walmart, and Other Stocks This AI Trader Is Selling Amid the Market Uncertainty

Some would say that trading hasn’t been easy amid the chaos and uncertainty that has characterized markets recently. But an artificial intelligence-driven stock picker has a clear plan: Dump Meta and Walmart and load up on stocks that have outperformed recently.

Tariffs, and their impact on the economic climate have weighed heavily on stocks —and lifted them sharply as effects appeared not to be as bad as first expected.

SoftBank-backed Qraft Technologies is one company capitalizing on AI technology to pick stock for its exchange-traded funds. The Hong Kong-based business has three U.S.-listed ETFs with a combined asset value of roughly $50 million.

Their selling point? All decisions are 100% controlled by an AI model and based on different investment strategies and investors’ risk appetite.

May was an interesting month, said Justin Tam, ETF Lead at Qraft. It showed how different their two biggest ETFs, the momentum fund AMOM and the more defensive option QRFT , are. AMOM targets stocks on the rise on the assumption that they’ll continue to outperform and is always looking for growth opportunities.

Nvidia is still the fund’s largest holding, with about 9% allocated to the chip maker stock. But there were a few surprise removals this month as well. It dropped its entire holding in Meta , which had accounted for 6% of the fund previously, after the Facebook-parent traded largely flat in April. The removal indicates that the AI predicts the stock won’t see gains anytime soon.

Walmart was also completely sold off after a solid month with a 10% gain, which Tam says could be profit-taking.

Chip maker Broadcom , drugmaker Eli Lilly, analytics software company Palantir, and streamer Netflix were notable additions to AMOM’s portfolio in May. Those stocks all saw impressive gains between 9% and 40% in April.

One argument in favor of AI handling your investments is that an AI trader won’t be influenced by emotions, fear or attachment to previous decisions. The counterargument is that it lacks intuition and the ability to imagine things can become different than they were.

The ETFs reallocate assets on the second trading day of every month. That means the last time they rebalanced was on April 2, or Trump’s so-called Liberation Day. “It wasn’t pretty,” Tam recalls, referring to the heavy market losses in the weeks following the president’s tariff announcement. “Things can change really, really quickly in this current condition. It’s really about just finding the proper risk tolerance, I’d say, for the everyday investor.”

While Liberation Day was painful for AMOM, the fund bounced back as most tariffs were put on a 90-day pause shortly after being announced, ending the month up nearly 4%. It’s still down just over 10% so far this year, largely due to a “very ugly March,” where tech, where AMOM is heavily overweight, took a big dive.

The performance data quoted represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the original cost. Returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized. The market price returns are based on the official closing price of an ETF share or, if the official closing price isn't available, the midpoint between the national best bid and national best offer (“NBBO”) as of the time the ETF calculates current NAV per share, and do not represent the r eturns you would receive if you traded shares at other times. NAVs are calculated using prices as of 4:00 PM Eastern Time.

For standardized performance and performance to the most recent month-end for the Qraft AI-Enhanced U.S. Large Cap ETF (QRFT), https://www.qraftaietf.com/qrft. For standardized performance and performance to the most recent month-end for the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY),https://www.ssga.com/us/en/intermediary/etfs/funds/spdr-sp-500-etf-trust-spy. QRFT is a broadly diversified, actively managed, multi-factor strategy ETF designed to outperform the S&P 500 Index. SPY is the flagship ETF tracking the S&P500 Index, and as such substantially overlaps QRFT in security exposure.

For standardized performance and performance to the most recent month-end for the Qraft AI-Enhanced U.S. Large Cap Momentum ETF(AMOM) https://www.qraftaietf.com/amom. For standardized performance and performance to the most recent month-end for the iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF (MTUM),https://www.ishares.com/us/products/251614/ishares-msci-usa-momentum-factor-etf. AMOM is an actively managed ETF, combining targeted momentum factor exposure with security selection, and is designed to outperform a passive momentum exposure. MTUM is the flagship index ETFs tracking a passive momentum exposure. Both ETFs broadly draw from the same universe of large-cap US stocks.

All funds are managed differently and do not react the same to economic or market events. The investment objectives, strategies, policies, or restrictions of other funds may differ and more information can be found in their respective prospectuses. Therefore, we generally do not believe it is possible to make direct fund to fund comparisons in an effort to highlight the benefits of a fund versus another similarly managed fund.

Source: Factset. Stock data is current as of May 30, 2025, and is intended for informational purposes only.

The momentum benchmark, the iShares MSCI momentum fund (MTUM), however, had managed to rise 2% in 2025 by the end of April. The company’s more defensive QRFT ETF on the other hand, has been outperforming the broader market. It’s down less than 2% this year, compared with the S&P 500’s 4% drawdown. “We’re crediting that to a more defensive allocation over the past few months,” Tam says.

That fund is slightly overweight on information technology, financials, and healthcare compared with the S&P 500. However, among its 10 biggest holdings are all Magnificent 7 companies: Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Nvidia, Amazon, Alphabet, and Tesla. It also holds a decent chunk of Eli Lilly, Walmart, and Broadcom.

Diversification was the number one thing Qraft had in mind when designing QRFT. The model uses a multifactor approach and includes 350 large-cap U.S.-listed stocks. It makes no big bets on any particular name or industry, which Tam thinks is “very appropriate in the current market climate.”

“Timing the market is very, very hard; some would say impossible. The more that you rebalance your portfolio, the greater the risk that you’re wrong and you get hit by the whipsaw effect,” he says.

While AIs are good at processing huge amounts of data, they lack human intuition. Now, given the president’s proven ability to surprise the market, it’s far from a given that human intuition will beat hard, cold—and backward-looking— data. “Nobody can predict what’s going to happen tomorrow, not even AI,” says Tam.

Write to Elsa Ohlen at elsa.ohlen@barrons.com

Portfolio holdings are subject to change and should not be considered investment advice.

Investing involves risk including possible loss of principal. Diversification does not ensure profits or prevent losses.

Artificial intelligence selection models are reliant upon data and information supplied by third parties that are utilized by such models. To the extent the models do not perform as designed or as intended, the strategy may not be successfully implemented. If the model or data are incorrect or incomplete, any decisions made in reliance thereon may lead to the inclusion or exclusion of securities that would have been excluded or included had the model or data been correct and complete. Service providers may experience disruptions that arise from human error, processing and communications error, counterparty or third-party errors, technology or systems failures, any of which may have an adverse impact.

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing. For a prospectus or summary prospectus with this and other information about the Qraft ETFs, please call (855) 973-7880 or visit our website at www.qraftaietf.com. Read the prospectus or summary prospectus carefully before investing.

Distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC

Investing involves risk, including loss of principal. The Funds are subject to numerous risks including but not limited to: Equity Risk, Sector Risk, Large Cap Risk, Management Risk, and Trading Risk. The Funds rely heavily on a proprietary artificial intelligence selection model as well as data and information supplied by third parties that are utilized by such model. To the extent the model does not perform as designed or as intended, the Fund’s strategy may not be successfully implemented, and the Funds may lose value. Additionally, the funds are non-diversified, which means that they may invest more of their assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if they were a diversified fund. As a result, each Fund may be more exposed to the risks associated with and developments affecting an individual issuer or a smaller number of issuers than a fund that invests more widely. A new or smaller fund’s performance may not represent how the fund is expected to or may perform in the long term if and when it becomes larger and has fully implemented its investment strategies. Read the prospectus for additional details regarding risks.


QRAFT AI Enhanced US Large Cap ETF QRFT
QRFT Current Holdings
Investment Objective: Capital Appreciation
Costs & Expenses: 0.75%
Liquidity: Because the Fund is an ETF, only a limited number of institutional investors (known as “Authorized Participants”) are authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund. In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, shares of the Fund may trade at a material discount to their net asset value (“NAV”) per share and possibly face delisting: (i) Authorized Participants exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other Authorized Participants step forward to perform these services, or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
Risks: Investing involves risk, including loss of principal. The Fund is subject to numerous risks including but not limited to: Equity Risk, Sector Risk, Large Cap Risk, Management Risk, and Trading Risk. The Fund relies heavily on a proprietary artificial intelligence selection model as well as data and information supplied by third parties that are utilized by such model. To the extent the model does not perform as designed or as intended, the Fundʼs strategy may not be successfully implemented and the Fund may lose value. Additionally, the fund is non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. As a result, each Fund may be more exposed to the risks associated with and developments affecting an individual issuer or a smaller number of issuers than a fund that invests more widely. A new or smaller fundʼs performance may not represent how the fund is expected to or may perform in the long term if and when it becomes larger and has fully implemented its investment strategies. Read the prospectus for additional details regarding risks.
Fluctuation of Principal or Return: As with all funds, a shareholder is subject to the risk that his or her investment could lose money.
Tax Features: Distributions from ETFs are subject to taxation.


SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY

SPY Current Holdings
Investment Objective: The Trust seeks to provide investment results that, before expenses, correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P 500® Index (the “Index”).
Costs & Expenses: 0.0945%
Liquidity: As with all exchange-traded funds, Fund Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The trading prices of Fund Shares in the secondary market may differ from the Fund’s daily net asset value per share, and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the net asset value per share (premium) or less than the net asset value per share (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines.
Risks: Investing involves risk including the risk of loss of principal. Equity securities may fluctuate in value and can decline significantly in response to the activities of individual companies and general market and economic conditions. Passively managed funds invest by sampling the index, holding a range of securities that, in the aggregate, approximates the full Index in terms of key risk factors and other characteristics. This may cause the fund to experience tracking errors relative to performance of the index. While the shares of ETFs are tradable on secondary markets, they may not readily trade in all market conditions and may trade at significant discounts in periods of market stress.
Fluctuation of Principal or Return: As with all investments, there are certain risks of investing in the Trust, and you could lose money on an investment in the Trust.
Tax Features: The Trust will make distributions that are expected to be taxable currently to you as ordinary income and/or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account.


QRAFT AI Enhanced US Large Cap Momentum ETF AMOM

AMOM Current Holdings
Investment Objective: Capital Appreciation
Costs & Expenses: 0.75%
Liquidity: Because the Fund is an ETF, only a limited number of institutional investors (known as “Authorized Participants”) are authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund. In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, shares of the Fund may trade at a material discount to their net asset value (“NAV”) per share and possibly face delisting: (i) Authorized Participants exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other Authorized Participants step forward to perform these services, or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
Risks: Investing involves risk, including loss of principal. The Fund is subject to numerous risks including but not limited to: Equity Risk, Sector Risk, Large Cap Risk, Management Risk, and Trading Risk. The Fund relies heavily on a proprietary artificial intelligence selection model as well as data and information supplied by third parties that are utilized by such model. To the extent the model does not perform as designed or as intended, the Fundʼs strategy may not be successfully implemented and the Fund may lose value. Additionally, the fund is non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. As a result, each Fund may be more exposed to the risks associated with and developments affecting an individual issuer or a smaller number of issuers than a fund that invests more widely. A new or smaller fundʼs performance may not represent how the fund is expected to or may perform in the long term if and when it becomes larger and has fully implemented its investment strategies. Read the prospectus for additional details regarding risks.
Fluctuation of Principal or Return: As with all funds, a shareholder is subject to the risk that his or her investment could lose money.
Tax Features: Distributions from ETFs are subject to taxation.
Behavioral Bias: Behavioral biases are irrational beliefs or behaviors that can unconsciously influence our decision-making process. Emotional biases involve taking action based on our feelings rather than concrete facts, or letting our emotions affect our judgment. Cognitive biases are errors in our thinking that arise while processing or interpreting the information that is available to us.


iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF MTUM

MTUM Current Holdings
Investment Objective: The iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of U.S. large- and mid-capitalization stocks exhibiting relatively higher price momentum.
Costs & Expenses: 0.15%
Liquidity: Only authorized participants (“APs”) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as APs and such APs have no obligation to submit creation or redemption orders. Consequently, there is no assurance that APs will establish or maintain an active trading market for the Shares. This risk may be heightened to the extent that securities held by the Fund are traded outside a collateralized settlement system. In that case, Aps may be required to post collateral on certain trades on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants), which only a limited number of APs may be able to do. In addition, to the extent that Aps exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/ or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other AP is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units, this may result in a significantly diminished trading market for Shares, and Shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to the Fundʼs net asset value (“NAV”) and to face trading halts and/or delisting. Investments in non-U.S. securities, which may have lower trading volumes, may increase this risk. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for the Shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors may lead to the Shares trading at a premium or discount to the Fundʼs NAV.
Risks: Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Funds that concentrate investments in specific industries, sectors, markets or asset classes may underperform or be more volatile than other industries, sectors, markets or asset classes and than the general securities market.
There can be no assurance that performance will be enhanced or risk will be reduced for funds that seek to provide exposure to certain quantitative investment characteristics ("factors"). Exposure to such investment factors may detract from performance in some market environments, perhaps for extended periods. In such circumstances, a fund may seek to maintain exposure to the targeted investment factors and not adjust to target different factors, which could result in losses.
Fluctuation of Principal or Return: As with all funds, a shareholder is subject to the risk that his or her investment could lose money.
Tax Features: Distributions from ETFs are subject to taxation.
Behavioral Bias: The Fundʼs distributions generally are taxed as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account; in which case your distributions may be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn from such account.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) does not guarantee a gain or protect against a loss.