Are GLD and TAIL in the same category?

GLD is a commodity 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, GLD or TAIL?

In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.8% and TAIL −13.1%.

Which is cheaper, GLD or TAIL?

GLD is cheaper, by 0.20 percentage points a year. That is about $20 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Across categories

GLD vs TAIL: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, GLD returned +2.8% to TAIL's −13.1%, and GLD charges 0.40% to TAIL's 0.60%.

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Net assets: $131.3bn on Nov 3, 2026 for SPDR Gold Shares, and $147m on Jul 31, 2026 for Cambria Tail Risk ETF.

GLD on its own →TAIL on its own →

At a glance

+2.8%

GLD total return, 1 year

−13.1%

TAIL total return, 1 year

0.40%

GLD expense ratio

0.60%

TAIL expense ratio

Pair scorecard

GLD costs 0.20 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 15.9 points.

GLD vs TAIL: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GLD	TAIL
Return
Measure	GLD	TAIL
Total return, 1 year	+2.8%	−13.1%
Total return, 52 weeks		−12.4%
Drawdown
Measure	GLD	TAIL
Below its high	24.9%, high on Jan 29, 2026
Against its benchmark
Measure	GLD	TAIL
What it tracks	Gold	not published
Treasury bills, 52 weeks		+3.7%
Against cash		16.0 points behind
Cost and size
Measure	GLD	TAIL
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.60%
Net assets, GLD as of Nov 3, 2026 and TAIL as of Jul 31, 2026	$131.3bn	$147m
Holdings
Measure	GLD	TAIL
Holdings in common	not published
Risk
Measure	GLD	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

GLD SPDR Gold Shares TAIL Cambria Tail Risk ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Alternatives ETF

Issuer State Street Cambria

What it is Holds gold Hedged equity

Total return, 1 year +2.8% −13.1%

Its benchmark over the same days +2.9% (IAU) +14.8% (VOO)

Gap to its benchmark −0.1 pts vs IAU −27.9 pts vs VOO

Expense ratio 0.40% 0.60%

Net assets, GLD as of Nov 3, 2026 and TAIL as of Jul 31, 2026 $131.3bn $147m

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

Alert

About each fund

GLD

Its expense ratio is 0.40% a year, for the three months to Jun 30, 2026, as its 10-Q states.

GLD holds gold. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 it returned +2.8% with distributions reinvested, against +2.9% for its benchmark, the price of gold. It sat 24.9% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Nov 4, 2026.

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 GLD and TAIL in the same category?: GLD is a commodity 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, GLD or TAIL?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +2.8% and TAIL −13.1%.
Which is cheaper, GLD or TAIL?: GLD is cheaper, by 0.20 percentage points a year. That is about $20 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

GLD vs HELO GLD vs PHEQ GLD vs KSPY GLD vs SHDG TAIL vs VOO QQQ vs TAIL 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 →GLD on its own →TAIL on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →TAIL dividend history →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

State Street website ↗

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

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