Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

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Alternative ETFs

ACIO vs HEQT: Correlation to the S&P 500

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, HEQT moved less with the S&P 500 than ACIO: correlation +0.97 against +0.99.

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Net assets: $2.4bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF, and $307m on Nov 3, 2026 for Simplify Hedged Equity ETF.

At a glance
+0.99
ACIO correlation with the S&P 500
+0.97
HEQT correlation with the S&P 500
84.3%
ACIO down-week capture
54.2%
HEQT down-week capture
ACIO Fell 84% as much as the S&P 500
Fell 84% as much as the S&P 500ACIO in the 26 weeks SPY fell, year to Nov 4, 2026: SPY averaged −1.07%, ACIO −0.90%.SPY−1.07%ACIO−0.90%Average week when SPY fell: 26 of 52, year to Nov 4, 2026Fell 84% as much as the S&P 500ACIO in the 26 weeks SPY fell, year to Nov 4, 2026: SPY averaged −1.07%, ACIO −0.90%.SPY−1.07%ACIO−0.90%Average week when SPY fell

ACIO in the 26 weeks SPY fell, year to Nov 4, 2026: SPY averaged −1.07%, ACIO −0.90%.

HEQT Fell 54% as much as the S&P 500
Fell 54% as much as the S&P 500HEQT in the 26 weeks SPY fell, year to Nov 4, 2026: SPY averaged −1.07%, HEQT −0.58%.SPY−1.07%HEQT−0.58%Average week when SPY fell: 26 of 52, year to Nov 4, 2026Fell 54% as much as the S&P 500HEQT in the 26 weeks SPY fell, year to Nov 4, 2026: SPY averaged −1.07%, HEQT −0.58%.SPY−1.07%HEQT−0.58%Average week when SPY fell

HEQT in the 26 weeks SPY fell, year to Nov 4, 2026: SPY averaged −1.07%, HEQT −0.58%.

Pair scorecard

HEQT costs 0.31 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.2 points.

ACIO vs HEQT: Correlation to the S&P 500
MeasureACIOHEQT
Return
Total return, 1 year+7.1%+10.3%
Against its benchmark
Treasury bills, 52 weeks+3.7%
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.79%0.48%
Net assets, ACIO as of Jul 31, 2026 and HEQT as of Nov 3, 2026$2.4bn$307m
Holdings
Holdings in commonnot published
Risk
Beta to the S&P 500+0.79: about 0.79% for each 1%+0.56: about 0.56% for each 1%
Its average week when the S&P 500 fellfell 0.90%fell 0.58%
ETFIQ Stock Diversification Score · HEQT scores higher How much does it diversify a stock portfolio?
IQ Alternatives Score17.1ACIO36.4HEQT

How much it diversifies a stock portfolio, ranked against 22 equity hedged alternatives ETFs with a full year. 100 is best. How it is computed

4.5, the lowest in this set 95.5, the highest

One year of weekly moves against the S&P 500, within one strategy; it ignores what the fund returned. All alternatives ETFs ranked by it →

Method

Risk and return

Nov 12, 2021 to Oct 30, 2026 · 259 weekly returns · each against VOO
ACIO HEQT
Return
Total return edge HEQT (slight) +49.9% +52.4%
Annualized edge HEQT (slight) +8.5% +8.8%
Price return edge ACIO +44.7% +35.5%
Risk
Volatility edge HEQT 11.0% 8.0%
Max drawdown edge HEQT −13.5% −11.1%
Downside capture 76.7% 55.7%
Beta 0.66 0.46
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge HEQT 0.43 0.60
Sortino edge HEQT 0.67 0.89
Treynor 0.072 0.104
Calmar edge HEQT 0.63 0.79
Against the benchmark
Alpha −0.8% a year +0.9% a year
Alpha t-stat −0.71 0.75
Information ratio −0.60 −0.39
Tracking error 6.0% 9.2%
Reading

From Nov 2021 to Oct 2026, HEQT returned slightly more: +52.4% to +49.9%. HEQT swung less: 8.0% to 11.0%. HEQT fell less at its worst: −11.1% to −13.5%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured
Open ↓
Risk and return: ACIO vs HEQT: Correlation to the S&P 500
MeasureACIOHEQTVOOEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+49.9%+52.4%HEQT (slight)Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+8.5%+8.8%HEQT (slight)Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return+44.7%+35.5%ACIOPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility11.0%8.0%HEQTSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation7.2%5.4%HEQTLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−13.5%−11.1%HEQTDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture58.9%40.5%100.0%ACIOShare of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture76.7%55.7%100.0%HEQTShare of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta0.660.461.00HEQT lowerHow far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared0.950.881.00Not an edgeShare of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.430.60HEQTReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.670.89HEQTReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor0.0720.1040.084HEQTReturn above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar0.630.79HEQTAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
BenchmarkVOOVOOVOOThe ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha−0.8% a year+0.9% a year0.0%Not significantYearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat−0.710.75Not an edgeHow sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range−3.0% to +1.4%−1.5% to +3.3%Both include zeroThe 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio−0.60−0.39HEQTReturn against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error6.0%9.2%0.0%Not an edgeHow far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 259 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Window by window

Window by window: ACIO vs HEQT: Correlation to the S&P 500
Total returnvs its benchmark
WindowACIOHEQTACIOHEQT
3 months−1.2%+0.8%−1.1 pts vs VOO+0.9 pts vs VOO
6 months+1.9%+4.8%−3.1 pts vs VOO−0.2 pts vs VOO
1 year+7.1%+10.3%−7.7 pts vs VOO−4.5 pts vs VOO
3 years+52.4%+50.4%−30.9 pts vs VOO−32.9 pts vs VOO
Since launchNot the same days: ACIO Jul 2019 · HEQT Nov 2021+98.5%+54.7%−87.7 pts vs VOO−23.3 pts vs VOO

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Side by side

ACIO Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF · Hedged equity fund: owns stocks and pays for protection against a fall, most often with put options HEQT Simplify Hedged Equity ETF · Hedged equity fund: owns stocks and pays for protection against a fall, most often with put options
Strategy Hedged equity Hedged equity
Correlation with the S&P 500 +0.99 +0.97
Beta to the S&P 500 +0.79 +0.56
Down-week capture 84.3% 54.2%
Average week when the S&P 500 fell −0.90% −0.58%
The S&P 500 in those weeks −1.07% −1.07%
Total return, same 52 weeks +6.9% +10.2%
Against T-bills, percentage points +3.3 pts +6.5 pts
Expense ratio 0.79% 0.48%
First traded Jul 10, 2019 Nov 2, 2021
Net assets, ACIO as of Jul 31, 2026 and HEQT as of Nov 3, 2026 $2.4bn $307m

As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

One strategy, two funds

ACIO and HEQT both run a hedged equity strategy. Over the same 52 weeks to Nov 4, 2026, ACIO’s weekly returns had a correlation of +0.99 with the S&P 500 and HEQT’s +0.97. In the 26 weeks the index fell, by 1.07% a week on average, ACIO averaged −0.90% and HEQT −0.58%. Over the same weeks, ACIO finished 3.3 percentage points ahead of cash and HEQT finished 6.5 points ahead of cash.

Client brief:

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About each fund
ACIO

ACIO is a hedged equity fund. ETFIQ measures what every alternatives fund is sold on: whether it moves differently from the stock market. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, its weekly returns had a correlation of +0.99 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.79, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.79% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks ACIO fell 0.90% on average, a down-week capture of 84.3%. Over the same 52 weeks ACIO returned +6.9% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 3.3 percentage points ahead of cash.

HEQT

HEQT is a hedged equity fund. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, its weekly returns had a correlation of +0.97 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.56, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.56% the same way. In the same weeks HEQT fell 0.58% on average, a down-week capture of 54.2%. Over the same 52 weeks HEQT returned +10.2% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 6.5 percentage points ahead of cash.

Questions people ask

Which moved less with the S&P 500, ACIO or HEQT?
Over the 52 weeks to Nov 4, 2026, ACIO’s weekly returns had a correlation of +0.99 with the S&P 500 and HEQT’s +0.97, so HEQT moved less with the index.
Which did better when the S&P 500 fell, ACIO or HEQT?
In the 26 weeks the S&P 500 fell, by 1.07% a week on average, ACIO averaged −0.90% and HEQT −0.58%, so HEQT returned more in those weeks.
Which earned more than cash, ACIO or HEQT?
Over the same weeks, ACIO finished 3.3 percentage points ahead of cash and HEQT finished 6.5 percentage points ahead of cash. Cash here is BIL, a fund of Treasury bills.
Which is cheaper, ACIO or HEQT?
ACIO charges 0.79% a year and HEQT charges 0.48%, so HEQT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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ETFIQ, ACIO against HEQT, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/alternatives/acio-vs-heqt

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