Leatherback Long/Short Alternative Yield ETF

Leatherback Long/Short Alternative Yield ETF (LBAY) is an actively managed fund that owns mostly US companies with high dividends and share repurchases, bets against stocks it expects to fall, and can sell call options for extra income. It pays monthly, yielding 3.62% over the 12 months to October 27, 2026, and gained while the stock market fell in 2022. The trade-off is cost: 1.20% a year, versus a 0.34% average for similar funds.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, LBAY returned +14.7%, 7th of 7 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +6.7%.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2023 (-8.3%); its best was 2022 (+22.6%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 15.8% (Jan 6, 2023 to Oct 27, 2023), recovered by Feb 4, 2026.

As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 58 securities; the ten largest made up 47.28% of assets, and 23.88% sat in cash and money-market holdings.

By sector

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $660K (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: -0.72%, +6.03%, +4.96%.

LBAY, from Tidal Financial Group, is actively managed: instead of tracking an index, it relies on sub-adviser Leatherback Asset Management to pick holdings. Leatherback uses quantitative and fundamental research to find US-listed companies of any size with high “shareholder yield” (dividends plus share repurchases plus debt paydowns) and room to grow dividends. At least 80% of net assets go into income-producing alternatives to bonds, such as common and preferred stocks and real estate investment trusts (REITs).

The fund sells short: it borrows shares through a broker and sells them, hoping to replace them more cheaply later. Leatherback targets companies with accounting red flags, fad-driven valuations, poor governance or weak margins, and may short sector, size, region or investment-style ETFs. Long positions minus shorts generally equal 75% to 110% of assets. If a shorted stock rises, losses have no upper limit.

Leatherback may sell covered calls on up to 100% of a stock or index position, collecting an upfront payment (a premium) but giving up gains above a set price. It may purchase put options, which gain value when prices fall. As of August 31, 2026, the fund had 58 holdings; the top 10, led by Hecla Mining, Barrick Mining and Alamos Gold, made up 47%. Cash was about 24%, and no option positions were listed.

• LBAY charges 1.2% a year, versus an average of 0.34% for the similar funds below (7th of 7, cheapest first).
• Of that, 0.95% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $122 in the first year and $1,455 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

Its long/short approach has at times moved against the stock market, including an 8.3% gain while the market fell in 2022.

LBAY could add something that does not simply follow stocks. From the market's January 2022 peak to its October 2022 low, the fund gained 8.3%, and its own 12.9% dip that year was recovered within two months. Its record does not cover the 2008 crisis or the 2020 crash. Its worst calendar year was 2023, down 8.46%, and its deepest drop, 15.8% from January to October 2023, took about 27 months to recover, until February 4, 2026. Someone selling shares for spending money during that stretch would have been selling below the earlier high.

The fund pays monthly, yielding 3.62% over the 12 months to October 27, 2026, but it costs 1.20% a year, versus 0.34% on average for similar funds. Past results don't predict future returns, and a retirement plan needs to weigh the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by closest holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports (no similar fund shares 20% or more of its holdings).