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CAOS

GradeBChicago Board Options Exchange

Alpha Architect Tail Risk ETF

Multi-Asset & Alternatives · Alpha Architect · Inception 2013-08-14

$90.50+0.04 (+0.04%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 2:07 PM EDT

History starts Mar 6, 2023.
Intraday session: up, 37 prints from 90.46 to 90.50. Range 90.38 to 90.50. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$90.40$90.4510 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.63%
Fund size
$682M
1Y return
+1.0%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$90.42
52W range
low $89.46high $90.97

The ETF.net CAOS Grade

B

66/ 100

Rank 2 of 13 in Portfolio Hedging⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for CAOS. Scores out of 100: Cost 54, Risk 74, Mission not scored, Tradability 77, Holdings not scored, Durability 92. Strongest: Durability (92). Weakest: Cost (54). Based on 4 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 66 of 100 sits in the B band. Bands: A ≥ 70, B ≥ 55, C ≥ 40, D ≥ 25, F < 25; the scale skips E.

  • Cost

    What you pay to own it — the expense ratio plus trading frictions, ranked within its category.
    CScore 54
    Category rank7/13 · mid-pack

  • Mission

    How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.
    Not scored
    —

  • Risk

    How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.
    AScore 74
    Category rank2/13 · top 15%

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    AScore 77
    Category rank1/13 · top 8%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    Not scored
    —

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    AScore 92
    Category rank1/13 · top 8%

Graded as of Sep 22, 2026 · Based on 4 of 6 pillars

Our read on CAOS

ETF.net Research

BMost S&P 500 options funds sell calls to collect premium. CAOS runs the other way: it buys protective puts and put spreads on the index and parks collateral in box spreads. The hedge-first take in a room full of premium sellers, active since 2013.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks maximum total return through capital appreciation and current income. Its strategy combines S&P 500-linked options, protective puts and put spreads, with collateral investments that may include box spreads.

Why people hold it

  1. 01The contrarian in its cohort: it buys downside protection (protective puts and put spreads) on the S&P 500 rather than selling calls for income.alphaarchitect.com
  2. 02Collateral can sit in box spreads, an options structure used to earn a cash-like return, so the money backing the hedge isn't dead weight.alphaarchitect.com
  3. 03Running since 2013 as an actively managed 1940 Act ETF, and it sits in the upper half of its S&P 500 options peer group.

Worth knowing

  1. 01The 0.63% fee runs a touch above the middle of this peer group; IVVW and PBP charge less for their own S&P 500 options strategies.
  2. 02Protection has a price. Buying puts is an ongoing cost in calm, grinding-higher markets, which is the flip side of owning a hedge.alphaarchitect.com
  3. 03Actively managed, so results follow the manager's option choices rather than a published index formula you can look up in advance.alphaarchitect.com

CAOS Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 3:54 AM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
—
Top-10 weight
115%
Largest holding
SPY 12/18/2026 10010.01 P89.5%

Sectors

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001—SPY 12/18/2026 10010.01 P89.47%668$611M4
002—SPX US 12/18/26 P1340017.51%213$119M2
003—SPY 12/18/2026 10.01 C7.36%668$50M5
004—SPX US 01/15/27 P32000.25%7,446$2M2
005—First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/20310.10%711,539$710K625
006—SPX US 12/18/26 P29000.09%7,966$580K2
007—SPX US 11/20/26 P28000.03%8,375$190K2
008—SPX US 12/18/26 C80000.02%21$160K1
009—SPX US 12/18/26 P70000.02%21$130K1
010—SPX US 10/16/26 P2600<0.01%8,204$40K1

Showing 1–10 of 10 holdings

CAOS Performance

Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.

CAOS$10,103
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,723
Sep 22, 2025 to Sep 22, 2026. CAOS $10,103. SPY $11,723. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$9,353$10,646$11,940Sep 2025Mar 2026Sep 2026

Sep 22, 2025 – Sep 22, 2026

Returns run to the Sep 22, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.

Trailing total return for CAOS. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodCAOS
Year to date+0.8%
1 month+0.0%
3 months+0.0%
1 year+1.0%
3 years+3.7%per year
5 yearsHistory unavailable—per year
10 yearsHistory unavailable—per year

As of the close, with distributions reinvested.

Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.

Annual total returns for CAOS
YearReturn barCAOS
2026 YTD+0.8%
2025+2.6%
2024+5.3%
2023+8.0%

History from Mar 6, 2023

CAOS in the news

ETF.net Research hasn’t filed on CAOS yet — coverage lands here as it’s written.

CAOS Dividends

This fund pays no distributions.
—Last 12 months
Payout per share
—Last 12 months

No distributions in the last 12 months.

CAOS Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
1.6%
Annualised · 36 months to Aug 2026
How it’s calculated: standard deviation

The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.

Return above 3-month US Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
−0.71
vs 3-month T-bills · to Aug 2026
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio

Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.

Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.

The largest fall from a peak to the low that followed.
−3.6%
42 months · trough May 2025
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown

The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.

Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.

How strongly the fund’s returns move with its asset-class index.
0.04
vs its asset-class index
How it’s calculated: beta

The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.

CAOS Cost

Expense ratio0.63%
  • The middle half of Portfolio Hedging funds
  • Median 0.63%

5 of the 11 Portfolio Hedging funds charge less.

CAOS costs $63.00 a year on $10,000. The median Portfolio Hedging fund costs $63.00.