CAOS vs SPD: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Alpha Architect Tail Risk ETF

CAOSBCboe

Simplify US Equity PLUS Downside Convexity ETF

SPDBNYSE Arca

Overlap

0.0%by weight

Expense ratio

SPD −0.10pt a year

CAOS0.63%SPD0.53%

Avg volume · 30D

CAOS 3.2×the volume

CAOS44.6KSPD14K

3Y return · a year

SPD +14.4pt

CAOS+3.8%SPD+18.2%

CAOS vs SPD Performance

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

+1.7%CAOS+2.5%SPD

Expense ratio: CAOS 0.63%; SPD 0.53%, better
Fund size: CAOS $728M; SPD $78M
1Y total return: CAOS +1.7%; SPD +2.5%, better
Yield (12M): CAOS No data; SPD 1.23%
Holdings: CAOS 10; SPD 22
Avg volume (30D): CAOS 44.6K sh, better; SPD 14K sh
NAV per share: CAOS $91.41; SPD $40.77
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for CAOS, SPD, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	CAOS	SPD
Cost30% weight	C54	A78Higher
Mission25% weight	Not scored	Not scored
Risk15% weight	A75Higher	B62
Tradability15% weight	A73Higher	C53
Holdings10% weight	Not scored	D37
Durability5% weight	A92Higher	B62

Rank among Portfolio Hedging funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. CAOS and SPD are both graded against the same 10 Portfolio Hedging funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Portfolio Hedging⁠

Category · 10 funds

See all 10 ›

SPD ranks 1st and CAOS 2nd of 10 funds in the Portfolio Hedging Category.

Rank 1BSPDSimplify US Equity PLUS Downside Convexity ETFScore 67
Rank 2BCAOSAlpha Architect Tail Risk ETFScore 66
Rank 3BPFIXSimplify Interest Rate Hedge ETFScore 65

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

CAOSBAlpha Architect Tail Risk ETF

SPDBSimplify US Equity PLUS Downside Convexity ETF

In short

CAOS Most 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.

SPD Most S&P 500 options funds sell options to collect premium. SPD runs the trade in reverse: US equity exposure plus a standing options overlay built to cushion deep market drops rather than harvest income.

Stated mandate

CAOS 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.

SPD The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation through primarily U.S. equity investments combined with a persistent downside-convexity options overlay intended to hedge market declines.

Why people hold it

CAOS The 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
Collateral 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
Running since 2013 as an actively managed 1940 Act ETF, and it sits in the upper half of its S&P 500 options peer group.

SPD The hedge is always on, not bolted in after volatility spikes. The overlay is built to soften declines instead of selling premium, the rarer job in this crowd.simplify.us
At 0.53% a year it undercuts the median fee among its S&P 500 options peers, notable for a fund carrying a live derivatives book.simplify.us
Trading since 2020. Equity core benchmarked to the S&P 500, a compact book of roughly 40 positions, distributions on a quarterly schedule.

Worth knowing

CAOS The 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.
Protection 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
Actively managed, so results follow the manager's option choices rather than a published index formula you can look up in advance.alphaarchitect.com

SPD Convexity is not free. A persistent hedge overlay has an ongoing cost that the fund carries whether or not the market actually falls.simplify.us
Shares trade lightly and assets are modest next to the cohort's giants, so spreads can be wider than the headline fee suggests.
It lands in the lower half of its S&P 500 options peer group. The fee is competitive; the hedged build simply has more moving parts than a plain buy-write.

Full CAOS profile⁠

Full SPD profile⁠

CAOS vs SPD Holdings

How CAOS and SPD differ

Overlap by weight

0.0%

Shared holdings make up 0.0% of CAOS and 0.0% of SPD.

Level by level

Holdings0 in both0.0%
Sector11 Sectors97.8%
Countryby domicile100%

Sector

Sector weights in CAOS and SPD, widest gap first
Sector	More in CAOSMore in SPD	CAOS	SPD
Technology	CAOS +1.3 points	40.1%	38.8%
Communication	CAOS +0.7 points	9.9%	9.2%
Financials	SPD +0.5 points	11.3%	11.8%
Health Care	SPD +0.4 points	9.4%	9.8%
Energy	SPD +0.4 points	3.4%	3.8%
Consumer Staples	SPD +0.3 points	4.4%	4.7%
Consumer Discretionary	SPD +0.3 points	8.7%	9.0%
Industrials	CAOS +0.2 points	7.6%	7.4%
Utilities	SPD +0.1 points	1.9%	2.0%
Real Estate	SPD +0.1 points	1.7%	1.8%
Materials	Same weight	1.6%	1.6%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in CAOS and SPD, widest gap first
Country	More in CAOSMore in SPD	CAOS	SPD
United States	SPD +0.1 points	99.5%	99.5%
Switzerland	Same weight	0.3%	0.3%
China	Same weight	0.1%	0.1%
Mexico	CAOS +0.1 points	0.1%	0.0%
Ireland	Same weight	0.0%	0.0%
United Kingdom	Same weight	0.0%	0.0%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

CAOS117.0%
SPD132.7%

Securities held

CAOS10
SPD20

Asset class

CAOS: Multi-Asset
SPD: Equity

Holdings

Only in CAOS10
In both0
Only in SPD20

Only in CAOS

10 securities, 100% of CAOS by weight

Spy 12/18/2026 10010.01 P88.92%
Spx Us 12/18/26 P1340020.14%
Spy 12/18/2026 10.01 C7.21%
Spx Us 02/19/27 P32000.35%
Spx Us 01/15/27 P32000.19%
First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/20310.15%
Spx Us 12/18/26 P29000.05%
Spx Us 12/18/26 P70000.02%
Spx Us 12/18/26 C8000<0.01%
Spx Us 11/20/26 P2800<0.01%

Only in SPD

20 securities, 100% of SPD by weight

Ishares Core S+p 500 Etf91.57%
Trs Sbar 05142718.87%
Trs Sbar 06152712.68%
B 1/28/27 Govt2.41%
SPXW US 01/15/27 P6550 Index1.04%
B 12/3/26 Govt0.66%
SPXW US 11/20/26 P7050 Index0.36%
SPXW US 11/20/26 P6525 Index0.22%
SPXW US 12/18/26 C8100 Index0.04%
SPXW US 01/15/27 C8150 Index0.04%
SPXW US 12/18/26 C8075 Index0.03%
SPXW US 12/18/26 C8275 Index0.01%
SPXW US 12/18/26 C8250 Index0.01%
SPXW US 11/20/26 C8000 Index<0.01%
SPXW US 11/30/26 C8150 Index<0.01%
SPXW US 11/30/26 C8250 Index<0.01%
SPXW US 11/20/26 C8150 Index<0.01%
SPXW US 11/13/26 C8100 Index<0.01%
SPXW US 11/20/26 C8250 Index<0.01%
SPXW US 11/20/26 C8350 Index<0.01%

Weight gaps

CAOS and SPD share no securities.

All CAOS holdings⁠All 40 SPD holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

CAOS vs SPD Cost

Overpaying CAOS vs SPD

$1,823

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

CAOS 0.63%
$12,359
SPD 0.53%
$10,536

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

CAOS 0.63%
SPD 0.53%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	CAOS	SPD	Overpaying
10	$1,128	$953	$175
20	$4,311	$3,658	$653
30	$12,359	$10,536	$1,823

Expense ratio

0.63%CAOS
0.53%SPD, cheaper

SPD0.53%CAOS0.63%

0.50%0.98%

Middle half of Portfolio Hedging funds
Median 0.63%

SPD 2nd cheapest of 10 funds

CAOS 5th cheapest of 10 funds

CAOS vs SPD Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): CAOS No data; SPD 1.23%
Payout (12M): CAOS None; SPD $0.50
Last payment: CAOS No data; SPD $0.20
Ex-dividend: CAOS No data; SPD Sep 25, 2026
Paid on: CAOS No data; SPD Sep 30, 2026
Frequency: CAOS No data; SPD Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2020 to 2026, same scale for both

CAOSAll CAOS payments⁠

No distribution history available.

SPDQuarterly · 22 paymentsAll SPD payments⁠

CAOS vs SPD Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: CAOS 1.6%, betterSPD 14.1%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: CAOS −0.43SPD 0.95, better
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: CAOS −3.6%since Mar 2023SPD −27.4%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: CAOS 0.04SPD 0.94; Market = 1

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