Answered from ETFIQ data as of .
Do hedged equity ETFs protect against a fall?
Partly, over the last year. In the weeks the S&P 500 fell, the median hedged equity ETF fell 60% as much as the index. Of the 21, 5 fell less than half as much and 4 rose.
A hedged equity fund owns stocks and pays for protection against a fall, most often with put options.
Most still move with stocks. The median correlation with the S&P 500 was +0.91, so the hedge changed how far these funds fell more than which way they went.
What a fund earned is a separate question: 15 of the 21 finished ahead of T-bills over the same 52 weeks.
On ETFIQ today
| Ticker | Fund | Correlation | Down-week capture | Against T-bills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HELO | JPMorgan Hedged Equity Laddered Overlay | +0.95 | 56.2% | +3.3 pts |
| ACIO | Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ET | +0.98 | 80.3% | +4.4 pts |
| FHEQ | Fidelity Hedged Equity ETF | +0.97 | 92.2% | +6.9 pts |
| CAOS | Alpha Architect Tail Risk ETF | −0.40 | −6.2% | −2.6 pts |
| HEGD | Swan Hedged Equity US Large Cap ETF | +0.97 | 60.2% | +4.7 pts |
| HEQT | Simplify Hedged Equity ETF | +0.94 | 45.1% | +7.8 pts |
| HOLA | JPMorgan International Hedged Equity Lad | +0.72 | 47.0% | +8.6 pts |
| SHDG | Soundwatch Hedged Equity ETF | +0.86 | 60.2% | +2.6 pts |
| TAIL | Cambria Tail Risk ETF | −0.75 | −32.1% | −16.8 pts |
| PHEQ | Parametric Hedged Equity ETF | +0.91 | 31.7% | +7.8 pts |
| KSPY | KraneShares Hedgeye Hedged Equity Index | +0.87 | 39.8% | +9.5 pts |
| QBER | TrueShares Quarterly Bear Hedge ETF | −0.69 | −15.4% | −4.0 pts |
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Where these figures came from
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Cite this page. ETFIQ, Do hedged equity ETFs protect against a fall?, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/questions/do-hedged-equity-etfs-protect-against-a-fall Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.