Are TAIL and VOO in the same category?

TAIL is an alternatives ETF and VOO is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.

Which returned more over the last year, TAIL or VOO?

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

Which is cheaper, TAIL or VOO?

VOO 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

TAIL vs VOO: Differences, Returns & Fees

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

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Net assets: $147m on Jul 31, 2026 for Cambria Tail Risk ETF, and $1.0tn on Oct 31, 2026 for Vanguard S&P 500 ETF.

TAIL on its own →VOO on its own →

At a glance

−13.1%

TAIL total return, 1 year

+14.8%

VOO total return, 1 year

0.60%

TAIL expense ratio

0.03%

VOO expense ratio

Pair scorecard

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

TAIL vs VOO: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	TAIL	VOO
Return
Measure	TAIL	VOO
Total return, 1 year	−13.1%	+14.8%
Total return, 52 weeks	−12.4%
Against its benchmark
Measure	TAIL	VOO
What it tracks	not published	S&P 500 Index
Treasury bills, 52 weeks	+3.7%
Against cash	16.0 points behind
Cost and size
Measure	TAIL	VOO
Expense ratio	0.60%	0.03%
Net assets, TAIL as of Jul 31, 2026 and VOO as of Oct 31, 2026	$147m	$1.0tn
Holdings
Measure	TAIL	VOO
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		100%
Holdings dated		Sep 30, 2026
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		39.1%
Risk
Measure	TAIL	VOO
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

TAIL Cambria Tail Risk ETF VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF

Where it sits Alternatives ETF Stock ETF

Issuer Cambria Vanguard

What it is Hedged equity Tracks the S&P 500

Total return, 1 year −13.1% +14.8%

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

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

Expense ratio 0.60% 0.03%

Holdings not read by ETFIQ 505

Net assets, TAIL as of Jul 31, 2026 and VOO as of Oct 31, 2026 $147m $1.0tn

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

Alert

About each fund

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.

VOO

VOO 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 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 505 positions, with the top ten at 39.1%.

Questions people ask

Are TAIL and VOO in the same category?: TAIL is an alternatives ETF and VOO is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
Which returned more over the last year, TAIL or VOO?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, TAIL returned −13.1% and VOO +14.8%.
Which is cheaper, TAIL or VOO?: VOO 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

SPY vs TAIL IVV vs TAIL QQQ vs TAIL GLD vs TAIL ACIO vs VOO HELO vs VOO KSPY vs VOO ATTR vs VOO

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

TAIL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

TAIL prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Cambria website ↗

VOO filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VOO prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VOO ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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