Are SPY and TAIL in the same category?

SPY 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, SPY or TAIL?

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

Which is cheaper, SPY or TAIL?

SPY is cheaper, by 0.51 percentage points a year. That is about $51 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Across categories

SPY vs TAIL: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, SPY returned +14.8% to TAIL's −13.1%, and SPY charges 0.09% to TAIL's 0.60%.

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Net assets: $804.8bn on Nov 3, 2026 for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, and $147m on Jul 31, 2026 for Cambria Tail Risk ETF.

SPY on its own →TAIL on its own →

At a glance

+14.8%

SPY total return, 1 year

−13.1%

TAIL total return, 1 year

0.09%

SPY expense ratio

0.60%

TAIL expense ratio

Pair scorecard

SPY costs 0.51 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 27.9 points.

SPY vs TAIL: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	SPY	TAIL
Return
Measure	SPY	TAIL
Total return, 1 year	+14.8%	−13.1%
Total return, 52 weeks		−12.4%
Against its benchmark
Measure	SPY	TAIL
What it tracks	S&P 500 Index	not published
Treasury bills, 52 weeks		+3.7%
Against cash		16.0 points behind
Cost and size
Measure	SPY	TAIL
Expense ratio	0.09%	0.60%
Net assets, SPY as of Nov 3, 2026 and TAIL as of Jul 31, 2026	$804.8bn	$147m
Holdings
Measure	SPY	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	SPY	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

SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust TAIL Cambria Tail Risk ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Alternatives ETF

Issuer State Street 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% (VOO) +14.8% (VOO)

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

Expense ratio 0.09% 0.60%

Holdings 504 not read by ETFIQ

Net assets, SPY as of Nov 3, 2026 and TAIL as of Jul 31, 2026 $804.8bn $147m

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

Alert

About each fund

SPY

SPY 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 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% 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 504 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 SPY and TAIL in the same category?: SPY 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, SPY or TAIL?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPY returned +14.8% and TAIL −13.1%.
Which is cheaper, SPY or TAIL?: SPY is cheaper, by 0.51 percentage points a year. That is about $51 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

ACIO vs SPY HELO vs SPY KSPY vs SPY SPY vs TOAK TAIL vs VOO IVV vs TAIL QQQ vs TAIL AGG vs TAIL

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

SPY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

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.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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