Are BND and TAIL in the same category?

BND is a bond ETF and TAIL is an alternatives ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.

Which returned more over the last year, BND or TAIL?

In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BND returned +0.2% and TAIL −13.1%.

Which is cheaper, BND or TAIL?

BND is cheaper, by 0.57 percentage points a year. That is about $57 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Across categories

BND vs TAIL: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, BND returned +0.2% to TAIL's −13.1%, and BND charges 0.03% to TAIL's 0.60%.

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Net assets: $167.4bn on Oct 31, 2026 for Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF, and $147m on Jul 31, 2026 for Cambria Tail Risk ETF.

BND on its own →TAIL on its own →

At a glance

+0.2%

BND total return, 1 year

−13.1%

TAIL total return, 1 year

0.03%

BND expense ratio

0.60%

TAIL expense ratio

Pair scorecard

BND costs 0.57 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 13.3 points.

BND vs TAIL: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BND	TAIL
Return
Measure	BND	TAIL
Total return, 1 year	+0.2%	−13.1%
Total return, 52 weeks		−12.4%
Against its benchmark
Measure	BND	TAIL
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index	not published
Treasury bills, 52 weeks		+3.7%
Against cash		16.0 points behind
Cost and size
Measure	BND	TAIL
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.60%
Net assets, BND as of Oct 31, 2026 and TAIL as of Jul 31, 2026	$167.4bn	$147m
Holdings
Measure	BND	TAIL
Holdings in common	not published
Risk
Measure	BND	TAIL
Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns		−0.74
Beta to the S&P 500		−0.36: about 0.36% for each 1%
Its average week when the S&P 500 fell		rose 0.17%
Down-week capture		−15.9%
Weeks the S&P 500 fell		26 of 52, by 1.07% on average

Method

Side by side

BND Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF TAIL Cambria Tail Risk ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Alternatives ETF

Issuer Vanguard Cambria

What it is Tracks an index of US aggregate bonds Hedged equity

Total return, 1 year +0.2% −13.1%

Its benchmark over the same days +0.2% (AGG) +14.8% (VOO)

Gap to its benchmark 0.0 pts vs AGG −27.9 pts vs VOO

Expense ratio 0.03% 0.60%

Holdings 16300 not read by ETFIQ

Net assets, BND as of Oct 31, 2026 and TAIL as of Jul 31, 2026 $167.4bn $147m

BND and TAIL on the fields both publish, as of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

BND

BND tracks an index of US aggregate bonds. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 it returned +0.2% with distributions reinvested, against +0.2% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index, measured by the closely related Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year.

TAIL

TAIL 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 −0.74 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of −0.36, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.36% the other way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks TAIL rose 0.17% on average, a down-week capture of −15.9%. Over the same 52 weeks TAIL returned −12.4% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 16.0 percentage points behind cash.

Questions people ask

Are BND and TAIL in the same category?: BND is a bond ETF and TAIL is an alternatives ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
Which returned more over the last year, BND or TAIL?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BND returned +0.2% and TAIL −13.1%.
Which is cheaper, BND or TAIL?: BND is cheaper, by 0.57 percentage points a year. That is about $57 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BND vs SHDG BND vs HEQT BND vs HEDG BND vs CAOS AGG vs TAIL TAIL vs TLT SPY vs TAIL IVV vs TAIL

Where to next

BIL, the T-bill fund these are measured against →SPY, the S&P 500 fund these are measured against →BND on its own →TAIL on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →BND dividend history →BND holdings →TAIL dividend history →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

BND filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

BND prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for BND ↗

TAIL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

TAIL prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Cambria website ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

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ETFIQ, BND against TAIL, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/bnd-vs-tail

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