PFIX vs TAIL

PFIXBSimplify Interest Rate Hedge ETF

TAILBCambria Tail Risk ETF

In short

PFIX A rate hedge built from an institutional tool. PFIX holds a long-dated OTC payer swaption on the 20-year rate, designed to behave much like owning puts on long Treasury bonds, and it launched in 2021 as the first ETF to package that trade.

TAIL A crash hedge with the budget written down: each month TAIL spends roughly 1% of assets on out-of-the-money S&P 500 puts and holds US Treasuries with the rest. Running since 2017, and Cambria says to expect negative returns in most periods.

Stated mandate

PFIX The fund is designed to hedge against rising long-term interest rates and potentially benefit when fixed-income volatility and market stress increase.

TAIL The fund seeks to manage the risk of a substantial decline in domestic equities over rolling one-month periods by investing in cash and U.S. government bonds while using put options.

Why people hold it

• PFIX Direct, convex exposure to a jump in long-term rates: the payer swaption is structured to gain value as long-dated rates rise, similar to long-dated puts on 20-year Treasuries.simplify.us
• 0.50% expense ratio undercuts the 0.63% median in its hedging cohort and peers like CAOS (0.63%) and TAIL (0.59%), one of the stronger builds in that group.
• The swaption is a strategic holding, reset only after long stretches or extreme rate moves, not rolled every month.simplify.us
• Collateral sits in Treasuries and TIPS, and the fund distributes monthly inside a standard 1940 Act ETF wrapper.simplify.us

• TAIL The hedge budget sits in the prospectus: roughly 1% of assets a month on S&P 500 puts, targeted 0% to 30% out of the money, rolled every month. No black box.cambriafunds.com
• Premiums ride on top of intermediate US Treasuries and TIPS rather than idle cash, so the sleeve funding the hedge can earn income. Distributions come quarterly.cambriafunds.com
• 0.60% with no fee waiver in play, near the median for hedging ETFs and below CAOS at 0.63%.
• Live since 2017 through several volatility spikes: one of the longer-running dedicated tail-risk funds and among the stronger builds in its hedging peer group.

Worth knowing

• PFIX It is engineered to move against long bonds, so the same mechanics that pay off when long rates spike work in reverse when rates fall.simplify.us
• Swaptions are options: value can erode with time and with calmer rate volatility, so carrying the hedge through quiet markets has a cost.simplify.us
• A concentrated OTC derivative position brings counterparty exposure and sharp NAV swings, and the fund is only moderately traded.simplify.us

• TAIL Cambria's own fact sheet says to expect negative returns in most periods. The steady drip of premium spending is the cost of carrying the options.cambriafunds.com
• The ballast is intermediate-term Treasuries, so rate moves matter. Stocks and bonds can fall together, and both sleeves can sag at once.cambriafunds.comcambriafunds.com 2
• Protection resets month by month, and puts that finish out of the money expire worthless.cambriafunds.com

Full PFIX profile⁠

Full TAIL profile⁠