Are IVV and TAIL in the same category?

IVV is a stock 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, IVV or TAIL?

In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IVV returned +14.8% and TAIL −13.1%.

Which is cheaper, IVV or TAIL?

IVV 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

IVV vs TAIL: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, IVV returned +14.8% to TAIL's −13.1%, and IVV charges 0.03% to TAIL's 0.60%.

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Net assets: $872.0bn on Nov 3, 2026 for iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, and $147m on Jul 31, 2026 for Cambria Tail Risk ETF.

IVV on its own →TAIL on its own →

At a glance

+14.8%

IVV total return, 1 year

−13.1%

TAIL total return, 1 year

0.03%

IVV expense ratio

0.60%

TAIL expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IVV costs 0.57 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 27.9 points.

IVV vs TAIL: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IVV	TAIL
Return
Measure	IVV	TAIL
Total return, 1 year	+14.8%	−13.1%
Total return, 52 weeks		−12.4%
Against its benchmark
Measure	IVV	TAIL
What it tracks	S&P 500	not published
Treasury bills, 52 weeks		+3.7%
Against cash		16.0 points behind
Cost and size
Measure	IVV	TAIL
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.60%
Net assets, IVV as of Nov 3, 2026 and TAIL as of Jul 31, 2026	$872.0bn	$147m
Holdings
Measure	IVV	TAIL
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight	100%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	37.3%
Risk
Measure	IVV	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

IVV iShares Core S&P 500 ETF TAIL Cambria Tail Risk ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Alternatives ETF

Issuer iShares Cambria

What it is Tracks the S&P 500 Hedged equity

Total return, 1 year +14.8% −13.1%

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

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

Expense ratio 0.03% 0.60%

Holdings 505 not read by ETFIQ

Net assets, IVV as of Nov 3, 2026 and TAIL as of Jul 31, 2026 $872.0bn $147m

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

Alert

About each fund

IVV

IVV tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 it returned +14.8% with distributions reinvested, against +14.8% for its benchmark, the S&P 500. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Nov 3, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 505 positions, with the top ten at 37.3%.

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 IVV and TAIL in the same category?: IVV is a stock 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, IVV or TAIL?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IVV returned +14.8% and TAIL −13.1%.
Which is cheaper, IVV or TAIL?: IVV 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

IVV vs SHDG ATTR vs IVV CAOS vs IVV FHEQ vs IVV TAIL vs VOO SPY vs TAIL QQQ vs TAIL TAIL vs TLT

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IVV filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IVV prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IVV ↗

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

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