CBLS vs HBDC: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Clough Hedged Equity ETF

CBLSDNYSE Arca

Hilton BDC Corporate Bond ETF

HBDCANasdaq

Overlap

0.0%by weight

Expense ratio

HBDC −1.50pt a year

CBLS1.89%HBDC0.39%

Avg volume · 30D

HBDC 2.8×the volume

CBLS2.76KHBDC7.84K

CBLS vs HBDC Performance

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

+6.9%CBLS+2.0%HBDC

Expense ratio: CBLS 1.89%; HBDC 0.39%, better
Fund size: CBLS $52M; HBDC $90M
1Y total return: CBLS +6.9%, better; HBDC +2.0%
Yield (12M): CBLS 0.82%; HBDC 5.15%, better
Holdings: CBLS 37; HBDC 156
Avg volume (30D): CBLS 2.76K sh; HBDC 7.84K sh, better
NAV per share: CBLS $30.05; HBDC $24.37
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for CBLS, HBDC, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	CBLS	HBDC
Cost30% weight	F24	A100Higher
Mission25% weight	Not scored	Not scored
Risk15% weight	D36	B63Higher
Tradability15% weight	B57Higher	C48
Holdings10% weight	Not scored	A86
Durability5% weight	C53Higher	C49

Rank among Alternative Strategies funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. CBLS and HBDC are both graded against the same 29 Alternative Strategies funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Alternative Strategies⁠

Category · 29 funds

See all 29 ›

HBDC ranks 2nd and CBLS 21st of 29 funds in the Alternative Strategies Category.

Rank 1AFLSPFranklin Systematic Style Premia ETFScore 77
Rank 2AHBDCHilton BDC Corporate Bond ETFScore 76
Rank 2AQAINYLI Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETFScore 76
Rank 20CLBAYLeatherback Long/Short Alternative Yield ETFScore 44
Rank 21DCBLSClough Hedged Equity ETFScore 36
Rank 22DFFLSThe Future Fund Long/Short ETFScore 34

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

CBLSDClough Hedged Equity ETF

HBDCAHilton BDC Corporate Bond ETF

In short

CBLS A real long book paired with a real short book, wrapped in an everyday ETF. Live since 2020, it lets an active manager bet on the stocks he likes and against the ones he doesn't, and it charges hedge-fund-adjacent money to do it.

HBDC Private credit's lenders have to borrow too. HBDC owns the senior unsecured bonds that business development companies issue, a first-mover take on BDC debt instead of BDC stock, wrapped in a rules-based index.

Stated mandate

CBLS The Fund is an actively managed ETF that seeks returns by buying securities the adviser views as financially strong, undervalued, or capable of growth, while shorting securities the adviser expects to decline.

HBDC The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the Solactive Hilton Capital BDC Corporate Bond TR Index.

Why people hold it

CBLS Actual shorting, not a synthetic proxy: the adviser buys names it views as undervalued, financially strong or growing, and sells short the ones it expects to fall.
Hedge-fund mechanics in a 1940 Act fund: daily pricing on an exchange, no lockups, no accreditation gate, disclosed holdings.
Trading since November 2020, so there is a multi-year, real-money record across sharply different markets to judge, not a backtest.
No index to hug. The balance between longs and shorts moves with the manager's judgment rather than a rulebook.

HBDC At 0.39% it undercuts the typical alternatives fund (cohort median near 1.01%) and peers like QAI at 0.75% and FTLS at 0.95%.
First fund built only around BDC bonds, and it sits above the equity: senior unsecured debt from issuers required by law to keep 150% asset coverage.hiltoncapitalmanagement.com hiltonetfs.com
Plumbing is plain: a Solactive index rebalanced quarterly with credit and liquidity screens, and the fund seeks to pay monthly.hiltonetfs.com

Worth knowing

CBLS The 1.89% expense ratio is the loudest fact in the file, at the high end of the alternatives shelf next to peers such as QALT (0.80%) and RNMN (0.59%).
Thinly traded, so bid-ask spreads and order type matter far more here than with a mega-cap index fund.
Results ride on one team's stock calls, and the short book carries borrow costs plus the risk of losing on both sides at once.

HBDC Non-diversified by design. The BDC bond universe is small, so one issuer's credit trouble carries more weight here than in a broad corporate bond fund.hiltonetfs.com
Thinly traded, so spreads can run wider than in mainstream bond ETFs.
Launched in 2025, meaning the record is short and has not yet spanned a full credit cycle.

Full CBLS profile⁠

Full HBDC profile⁠

CBLS vs HBDC Holdings

How CBLS and HBDC differ

Overlap by weight

0.0%

Shared holdings make up 0.0% of CBLS and 0.0% of HBDC.

Level by level

Asset classEquity, Fixed Income0.0%
Holdings0 in both0.0%
Countryby domicile89.0%

Sector

No Sector split for HBDC.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in CBLS and HBDC, widest gap first
Country	More in CBLSMore in HBDC	CBLS	HBDC
United States	HBDC +11.0 points	89.0%	100.0%
South Korea	CBLS +3.0 points	3.0%	0.0%
Taiwan	CBLS +2.8 points	2.8%	0.0%
Canada	CBLS +2.8 points	2.8%	0.0%
Netherlands	CBLS +2.6 points	2.6%	0.0%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

CBLS70.3%
HBDC12.1%

Securities held

CBLS37
HBDC155

Asset class

CBLS: Equity
HBDC: Fixed Income

Holdings

Only in CBLS37
In both0
Only in HBDC155

Only in CBLS

37 securities, 100% of CBLS by weight

Broker Sweep39.59%
BlackRock Liquidity Funds T-Fund (Inst Shs)7.11%
Venture Global Inc3.50%
Cheniere Energy Inc3.06%
SharkNinja Inc2.99%
Rh2.94%
Rollins Inc2.82%
Ccc Intelligent Solutions Hold2.82%
Devon Energy Corp2.77%
UnitedHealth Group Inc2.75%
Service Corp International/US2.64%
Crowdstrike Holdings Inc2.63%
JFrog Ltd2.53%
Select Water Solutions Inc2.51%
Okta Inc2.51%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc2.49%
Snowflake Inc2.48%
Celestica Inc2.47%
Baker Hughes Co2.47%
SK hynix Inc2.47%
Broadcom Inc2.44%
PulteGroup Inc2.43%
Intel Corp2.43%
APA Corp2.43%
Spotify Technology SA2.43%
ASML Holding NV2.41%
Microsoft Corp2.41%
Philip Morris International Inc2.41%
Palo Alto Networks Inc2.40%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc2.40%
Southern Copper Corp2.39%
Constellation Energy Corp2.39%
Amphenol Corp2.37%
Eli Lilly & Co2.35%
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd ADR2.33%
Carvana Co2.32%
Transocean Ltd2.19%

Only in HBDC

155 securities, 99.3% of HBDC by weight

Ares Capital Corp 2.875% 06/15/20281.35%
Blue Owl Capital Corp 5.95% 03/15/20291.28%
Apollo Debt Solutions BDC 6.9% 04/13/20291.26%
Ares Strategic Income Fund 5.7% 03/15/20281.24%
Apollo Debt Solutions BDC 6.7% 07/29/20311.23%
Blue Owl Credit Income Corp 5.8% 03/15/20301.20%
Blackstone Private Credit Fund 2.625% 12/15/20261.17%
Blue Owl Technology Finance Corp 6.5% 10/15/20291.13%
Ares Capital Corp 5.875% 03/01/20291.11%
Blue Owl Credit Income Corp 6.6% 09/15/20291.10%
Goldman Sachs Private Credit Corp 5.875% 01/31/20311.09%
Ares Capital Corp 5.8% 03/08/20321.07%
Blue Owl Capital Corp 2.875% 06/11/20281.04%
Ares Capital Corp 7% 01/15/20271.01%
FS KKR Capital Corp 7.5% 08/01/20310.98%
Apollo Debt Solutions BDC 6.55% 03/15/20320.97%
Sixth Street Lending Partners 6.5% 03/11/20290.97%
Golub Capital BDC Inc 6% 07/15/20290.96%
Sixth Street Lending Partners 6.125% 07/15/20300.95%
Ares Capital Corp 5.95% 07/15/20290.94%
Blackstone Private Credit Fund 3.25% 03/15/20270.93%
HPS Corporate Lending Fund 5.45% 01/14/20280.93%
Blue Owl Credit Income Corp 6.65% 03/15/20310.92%
Blackstone Private Credit Fund 6% 01/29/20320.91%
Goldman Sachs Private Credit Corp 6.15% 06/16/20310.91%
Ares Strategic Income Fund 6.2% 03/21/20320.91%
Ares Strategic Income Fund 5.6% 02/15/20300.90%
Golub Capital BDC Inc 7.05% 12/05/20280.90%
Apollo Debt Solutions BDC 5.7% 01/23/20310.90%
Blue Owl Technology Finance Corp 6.75% 04/04/20290.89%
Apollo Debt Solutions BDC 6.35% 06/30/20330.88%
Ares Capital Corp 5.55% 01/15/20300.87%
Ares Strategic Income Fund 6.35% 08/15/20290.86%
Goldman Sachs Private Credit Corp 5.05% 02/23/20280.86%
Blackstone Private Credit Fund 5.95% 07/16/20290.85%
Ares Strategic Income Fund 5.55% 04/15/20310.83%
Blue Owl Technology Finance Corp 6.1% 03/15/20280.82%
Blue Owl Credit Income Corp 7.95% 06/13/20280.82%
Ares Capital Corp 5.5% 09/01/20300.82%
Ares Capital Corp 5.25% 04/12/20310.81%
Goldman Sachs Private Credit Corp 5.375% 01/31/20290.79%
FS KKR Capital Corp 3.125% 10/12/20280.76%
Blackstone Private Credit Fund 5.95% 05/15/20310.76%
Blue Owl Credit Income Corp 7.75% 09/16/20270.74%
Sixth Street Lending Partners 5.75% 01/15/20300.74%
FS KKR Capital Corp 6.125% 01/15/20300.74%
HPS Corporate Lending Fund 4.9% 09/11/20280.73%
Goldman Sachs Private Credit Corp 6.25% 05/06/20300.73%
Blackstone Secured Lending Fund 5.35% 04/13/20280.73%
Ares Strategic Income Fund 5.45% 09/09/20280.72%

Weight gaps

CBLS and HBDC share no securities.

All 20 CBLS holdings⁠All HBDC 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.

CBLS vs HBDC Cost

Overpaying CBLS vs HBDC

$23,626

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

CBLS 1.89%
$31,524
HBDC 0.39%
$7,898

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

CBLS 1.89%
HBDC 0.39%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	CBLS	HBDC	Overpaying
10	$3,211	$705	$2,506
20	$11,602	$2,725	$8,877
30	$31,524	$7,898	$23,626

Expense ratio

1.89%CBLS
0.39%HBDC, cheaper

HBDC0.39%CBLS1.89%

0.39%10.91%

Middle half of Alternative Strategies funds
Median 1.13%

HBDC cheapest of 29 funds

CBLS 22nd cheapest of 29 funds

CBLS vs HBDC Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): CBLS 0.82%; HBDC 5.15%, better
Payout (12M): CBLS $0.25; HBDC $1.25
Last payment: CBLS $0.25; HBDC $0.11
Ex-dividend: CBLS Dec 30, 2025; HBDC Oct 29, 2026
Paid on: CBLS Dec 31, 2025; HBDC Oct 30, 2026
Frequency: CBLS Annual; HBDC Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

CBLSAnnual · 3 paymentsAll CBLS payments⁠

HBDCMonthly · 16 paymentsAll HBDC payments⁠

CBLS vs HBDC Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: CBLS 15.0%HBDC 2.5%since Jul 2025
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: CBLS 0.88HBDC −0.28since Jul 2025
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: CBLS −31.2%HBDC −3.0%since Jun 2025
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: CBLS 0.71HBDC 0.13; Market = 1

CBLS and HBDC in the news

All news⁠

ETF Filings
Sound would hand two small income ETFs to Hilton Capital Management
Oct 16, 2026HBDC

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CBLS vs HBDC

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it

Worth knowing

How CBLS and HBDC differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in CBLS

Only in HBDC

Weight gaps

Cost over time

Year by year

Distribution history

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

Sound would hand two small income ETFs to Hilton Capital Management

How CBLS and HBDC differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in CBLS

Only in HBDC

Weight gaps