Core Alternative ETF

Core Alternative ETF (CCOR), from Core Alternative Capital, is an actively managed fund holding mostly large, dividend-paying U.S. stocks plus index put options that act as insurance against sharp market drops. That hedge kept it nearly flat through the 2022 market slump. But its 1.16% annual fee dwarfs the 0.1% average of stock funds with overlapping holdings, and it lost about 1.5% a year over the five years to October 27, 2026.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, CCOR returned +1.1%, 9th of 9 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was -1.5%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 13.4% and regained its old high 12.9 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2023 (-11.9%); its best was 2021 (+9.9%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 22.9% (Nov 10, 2022 to Jul 1, 2024), not yet recovered.

As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 37 securities; the ten largest made up 39.84% of assets.

By sector

• Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $2K (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: -2.24%, -0.16%, +3.85%.

CCOR tracks no index. Its managers at Core Alternative Capital pick high-quality, mostly large U.S. dividend payers they expect to grow earnings and raise dividends, spread across sectors. The prospectus describes no weighting formula or rebalancing schedule. As of July 31, 2026, the largest of its 37 holdings were Alphabet (5.4%), Morgan Stanley (4.5%), Johnson & Johnson (4.5%) and Microsoft (3.9%); the top 10 made up about 40% of assets.

The fund always owns index put options, which rise in value when the index falls and act like insurance against a sharp drop. Their cost is lost if markets hold up. The managers can trim the puts, raising exposure to declines, and at times write index call options, collecting cash but giving up gains above a set price. They may also use spreads, which pair options at different prices. On July 31, 2026, it held five S&P 500 index option positions (ticker SPXW), all expiring within about a week.

Proprietary models, past profit-and-loss data and economic factors such as interest rates, the dollar and growth inform its choices, but managers have the final say. Options are held to expiry or closed early to lock in gains or limit losses. The prospectus warns the hedge may not work as intended and that options follow complex tax rules.

• CCOR charges 1.16% a year, versus an average of 0.1% for the similar funds below (9th of 9, cheapest first).
• Of that, 1.05% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $118 in the first year and $1,409 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

Its index put-option hedge has made it behave differently from the stock market, nearly flat in the 2022 slump, but a 22.9% slide and a 1.16% annual fee make it a supporting piece, not a core holding.

Launched in 2017, CCOR has no 2008 record. Its put-option hedge helped in 2022: it stayed nearly flat through the market's slide and gained 2.98% for the year. Over the 2020 crash it lost 5.8%, though a 13.4% drop in mid-March took 12.9 months to recover. Its deepest drop came outside a crash: 22.9% from November 2022 to July 2024, spanning its worst calendar year (an 11.39% loss in 2023), and still unrecovered as of October 27, 2026. Anyone withdrawing then was cashing out shares at depressed prices.

Income is small: a 0.95% yield over the 12 months to October 27, 2026, paid quarterly. The 1.16% expense ratio (annual fee) costs $118 in the first year and $1,409 over 10 years on $10,000, in the SEC's standard 5%-return example. Past results don't predict future ones, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.