Are QQQ and TAIL in the same category?

QQQ 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, QQQ or TAIL?

In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QQQ returned +12.3% and TAIL −13.1%.

Which is cheaper, QQQ or TAIL?

QQQ is cheaper, by 0.42 percentage points a year. That is about $42 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Across categories

QQQ vs TAIL: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QQQ returned +12.3% to TAIL's −13.1%, and QQQ charges 0.18% to TAIL's 0.60%.

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Net assets: $464.6bn on Nov 3, 2026 for Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1, and $147m on Jul 31, 2026 for Cambria Tail Risk ETF.

QQQ on its own →TAIL on its own →

At a glance

+12.3%

QQQ total return, 1 year

−13.1%

TAIL total return, 1 year

0.18%

QQQ expense ratio

0.60%

TAIL expense ratio

Pair scorecard

QQQ costs 0.42 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 25.4 points.

QQQ vs TAIL: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	QQQ	TAIL
Return
Measure	QQQ	TAIL
Total return, 1 year	+12.3%	−13.1%
Total return, 52 weeks		−12.4%
Drawdown
Measure	QQQ	TAIL
Below its high	8.9%, high on Oct 6, 2026
Against its benchmark
Measure	QQQ	TAIL
What it tracks	Nasdaq-100 Index	not published
Treasury bills, 52 weeks		+3.7%
Against cash		16.0 points behind
Cost and size
Measure	QQQ	TAIL
Expense ratio	0.18%	0.60%
Net assets, QQQ as of Nov 3, 2026 and TAIL as of Jul 31, 2026	$464.6bn	$147m
Holdings
Measure	QQQ	TAIL
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight	94%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	46.7%
Risk
Measure	QQQ	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

Risk and return

Jun 23, 2017 to Oct 30, 2026 · 488 weekly returns

QQQ TAIL

Return

Total return edge QQQ +419.8% −51.0%

Annualized edge QQQ +19.2% −7.3%

Price return edge QQQ +388.9% −59.0%

Risk

Volatility edge TAIL 21.0% 13.2%

Max drawdown edge QQQ −35.1% −54.8%

Downside capture 100.2% −106.5%

Beta 1.00 −0.59

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge QQQ 0.82 −0.72

Sortino edge QQQ 1.23 −1.10

Treynor 0.141 0.159

Calmar edge QQQ 0.55 −0.13

Against the benchmark

Alpha −0.1% a year −2.0% a year

Alpha t-stat −0.58 −0.74

Information ratio −0.10 −0.76

Tracking error 0.4% 29.0%

Each against its own benchmark: QQQ against QQQM, Oct 23, 2020 to Oct 30, 2026; TAIL against VOO, Jun 23, 2017 to Oct 30, 2026.

Reading

From Jun 2017 to Oct 2026, QQQ returned more: +419.8% to −51.0%. TAIL swung less: 13.2% to 21.0%. QQQ fell less at its worst: −35.1% to −54.8%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: QQQ vs TAIL: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	QQQ	TAIL	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+419.8%	−51.0%	QQQ	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+19.2%	−7.3%	QQQ	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+388.9%	−59.0%	QQQ	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	21.0%	13.2%	TAIL	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	14.0%	8.6%	TAIL	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−35.1%	−54.8%	QQQ	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	100.4%	−26.6%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	100.2%	−106.5%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	1.00	−0.59	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	1.00	0.62	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.82	−0.72	QQQ	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	1.23	−1.10	QQQ	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.141	0.159		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.55	−0.13	QQQ	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	QQQM	VOO		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	−0.1% a year	−2.0% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−0.58	−0.74	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−0.4% to +0.2%	−7.2% to +3.3%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.10	−0.76		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	0.4%	29.0%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 488 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Side by side

QQQ Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 TAIL Cambria Tail Risk ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Alternatives ETF

Issuer Invesco Cambria

What it is Tracks the Nasdaq-100 Hedged equity

Total return, 1 year +12.3% −13.1%

Its benchmark over the same days +12.3% (QQQM) +14.8% (VOO)

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

Expense ratio 0.18% 0.60%

Holdings 103 not read by ETFIQ

Net assets, QQQ as of Nov 3, 2026 and TAIL as of Jul 31, 2026 $464.6bn $147m

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

Client brief:

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Alert

About each fund

QQQ

QQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 it returned +12.3% with distributions reinvested, against +12.3% for its benchmark, the Nasdaq-100 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.18% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Nov 3, 2026, 94% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 103 positions, with the top ten at 46.7%. It sat 8.9% below its high of Oct 6, 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 QQQ and TAIL in the same category?: QQQ 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, QQQ or TAIL?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QQQ returned +12.3% and TAIL −13.1%.
Which is cheaper, QQQ or TAIL?: QQQ is cheaper, by 0.42 percentage points a year. That is about $42 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

QQQ vs SHDG QQQ vs TOAK ATTR vs QQQ HEQT vs QQQ TAIL vs VOO SPY vs TAIL IVV vs TAIL BND vs TAIL

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

QQQ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

QQQ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Invesco page for QQQ ↗

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.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.