Data as of Sep 19, 2026.
CAOS vs QQQ: how they differ
Over the year QQQ returned more, +21.8% to CAOS's +1.1%, and QQQ charges 0.18% to CAOS's 0.63%.
Alpha Architect Tail Risk ETF and Invesco QQQ Trust.
| CAOS Alpha Architect Tail Risk ETF | QQQ Invesco QQQ Trust | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Alternatives ETF | Core fund |
| Issuer | Alpha Architect | Invesco |
| What it is | Hedged equity | Tracks the Nasdaq-100 |
| Total return, 1 year | +1.1% | +21.8% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +16.6% | +16.6% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −15.5 pts | +5.2 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.63% | 0.18% |
| Holdings | not filed | 105 |
| Net assets | $705m | $484.3bn |
CAOS in plain words
CAOS 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 Sep 18, 2026, its weekly returns had a correlation of −0.40 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of −0.04, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.04% the other way. The S&P 500 fell in 22 of those 52 weeks, by 1.24% on average. In the same weeks CAOS rose 0.08% on average, a down-week capture of −6.2%. Over the same 52 weeks CAOS returned +1.1% and a Treasury bill fund +3.6%, so it finished 2.6 percentage points behind cash.
QQQ in plain words
QQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100. Over the year to Sep 18, 2026 it returned +21.8% with distributions reinvested, against +16.6% for the S&P 500 and +21.8% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.18% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Sep 19, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 105 positions, with the top ten at 47.7%. It sat 3.2% below its high of Jun 2, 2026 on Sep 18, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, CAOS or QQQ?
- In the year to Sep 19, 2026, with distributions reinvested, CAOS returned +1.1% and QQQ returned +21.8%, so QQQ returned more.
- Which is cheaper, CAOS or QQQ?
- CAOS charges 0.63% a year and QQQ charges 0.18%, so QQQ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- Are CAOS and QQQ the same kind of fund?
- No. CAOS is an alternatives ETF and QQQ is an index ETF, so they are built for different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and what each actually holds.
Other comparisons
Where to next
Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, CAOS against QQQ, data as of Sep 19, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/caos-vs-qqq Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources