At a glance
TAX charges 0.54% a year. It has $25.4M in assets; it paid 0.33% of its price in distributions over the past 12 months, annual. Over the past year it returned +7.5% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%). Its ten largest positions make up 15.9% of the fund, out of 98 in all.
The short version
Cambria Tax Aware ETF (TAX) is an actively managed fund of U.S.-listed stocks that look cheap relative to sales and earnings but pay small dividends, aiming to shrink the yearly tax bill dividends create in taxable accounts. It owns its 98 holdings (as of August 31, 2026) in roughly equal amounts and charges 0.54% a year. The trade-off: little income, with a 0.33% yield as of October 27, 2026.
Price history
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TAX +7.5% over the year to Oct 27, 2026, total return with distributions reinvested.
How it has behaved
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | Since start | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TAX official prospectus, to Dec 31, 2025 | — | +13.68% | — | — | — | — |
| TAX price data to Oct 27, 2026 | +7.6% | +7.5% | — | — | — | +13.2% |
- Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, TAX returned +7.5%.
- Its worst full calendar year was 2025 (+16.7%); its best was 2025 (+16.7%).
- The deepest fall in its price history was 27.5% (Feb 4, 2025 to Apr 8, 2025), recovered by Nov 12, 2025.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data | Prospectus (official) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +7.6% | — |
| 2025 | +16.7% | +16.73% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Before this security existed |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Before this security existed |
Dividends and income
Show as a table
| Year | Per share | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $0.1000 |
What's inside
As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 98 securities; the ten largest made up 15.95% of assets.
| Holding | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| Revolution Medicines Inc | 1.95% | |
| Twilio Inc | 1.80% | |
| Advanced Micro Devices Inc | 1.79% | |
| JFrog Ltd | 1.67% | |
| Flex Ltd | 1.56% | |
| Charter Communications Inc | 1.54% | |
| Roivant Sciences Ltd | 1.48% | |
| Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC | 1.44% | |
| Viasat Inc | 1.36% | |
| F5 Inc | 1.36% | |
| Tenet Healthcare Corp | 1.32% | |
| Natera Inc | 1.31% | |
| Maplebear Inc | 1.27% | |
| Charles River Laboratories International Inc | 1.27% | |
| Comfort Systems USA Inc | 1.23% |
By country
United States 90.77%Bermuda 3.23%Israel 1.67%Singapore 1.56%Ireland 1.44%By asset type
Stocks 98.67%What changed recently
- Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $306K (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
- Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +3.56%, -3.32%, +1.07%.
How it works
TAX is actively managed and does not follow an index. Cambria Investment Management, the fund's sub-adviser, picks stocks using its own quantitative (rules-based) model. The reasoning: dividends create a yearly tax bill in taxable accounts, so cheap stocks that pay little may deliver more after tax than high-yield stocks with similar total returns. The prospectus says this reduces, but won't eliminate, taxable income from the fund.
The model starts with the 1,000 largest U.S. stocks, keeps companies worth more than $5 billion that pass sector-concentration and liquidity (ease-of-trading) tests, and removes the highest dividend payers. It ranks the rest on several value measures, including price-to-sales, price-to-earnings and EV/EBITDA (total company value relative to operating earnings), then picks 50 to 500 stocks with the strongest mix of low yield and cheap valuation. The fund held 98 stocks as of August 31, 2026.
Holdings are equally weighted, meaning each gets about the same amount of money, so none dominates: the largest, Revolution Medicines, was 1.95% of assets and the top 10 made up 15.95% as of August 31, 2026. Cambria rebalances to its targets at least once a year and may drop a stock sooner if it looks overvalued. The prospectus filed March 25, 2026, reports 78% portfolio turnover, the share of holdings replaced over a year.
What it really costs
- TAX charges 0.54% a year.
- Of that, 0.49% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
- Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $55 in the first year and $677 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).
| Cost of $10,000 (SEC example) | 1 yr | 3 yrs | 5 yrs | 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TAX | $55 | $173 | $302 | $677 |
In a retirement portfolio
A small, actively managed U.S. stock fund with a short record and a 27.5% drop in 2025 fits better as a smaller add-on than as a portfolio's foundation.
In a taxable account, TAX could add a tilt toward cheaply priced U.S.-listed stocks while generating little taxable income. It launched December 18, 2024, so it has no record in the 2008 crisis, 2020 COVID crash or 2022 bear market. Its only full calendar year, 2025, returned 16.73%, but it fell 27.5% from February 4 to April 8, 2025, and needed about seven months to recover. Cashing out that spring would have locked in a deep loss.
It is not an income fund. It avoids high dividend payers by design; its yield over the prior year was 0.33% as of October 27, 2026, paid once a year. In an IRA or similar tax-advantaged account, the tax edge largely disappears while the 0.54% expense ratio (yearly fee) remains. Past results don't predict future returns, and a plan should weigh the whole portfolio, not one fund.
Who it may suit — and who should look elsewhere
May suit
- Investors holding U.S. stocks in a taxable brokerage account who want less of their return arriving as yearly taxable dividends.
- Those wanting a tilt toward cheaply priced stocks, spread evenly; the largest holding was 1.95% of assets as of August 31, 2026.
- People adding a smaller, higher-risk position who can hold through sharp drops: it fell 27.5% in early 2025 and took about seven months to recover.
Look elsewhere if
- Retirees seeking income: TAX avoids high dividend payers by design, yielded 0.33% as of October 27, 2026, and pays only once a year.
- Savers using IRAs or similar tax-advantaged accounts, where dividends aren't taxed yearly, so the tax edge fades while the 0.54% fee remains.
- Those wanting a long record or a large fund: TAX launched in December 2024 and held $25.4 million in assets as of August 31, 2026.
Close alternatives
Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.
No close alternatives found.
Questions investors ask
How does the Cambria Tax Aware ETF lower taxes?
By owning stocks that pay small dividends. TAX removes the highest-yielding stocks from the 1,000 largest U.S. companies, then picks those that look cheap on value measures such as price-to-earnings, so more of its return comes from share price changes than from dividends taxed each year. The prospectus says this reduces taxable income from the fund but won't eliminate it, and its trade-offs may lower pretax income. The benefit applies mainly in taxable accounts rather than IRAs and similar tax-advantaged accounts.
Does TAX ETF pay dividends?
Yes, but very little, and only once a year. TAX paid about $0.10 per share in the year to October 27, 2026, a yield of 0.33%. The low payout is deliberate: the fund removes the highest-yielding stocks so investors in taxable accounts face smaller yearly tax bills. Retirees looking for regular income from a fund would get little here; TAX's return depends mainly on share prices rising.
What stocks are in the TAX ETF?
As of August 31, 2026, the largest positions were Revolution Medicines (1.95%), Twilio (1.80%), Advanced Micro Devices (1.79%), JFrog (1.67%) and Flex (1.56%). Because holdings are equally weighted, no stock dominates: the top 10 made up 15.95% of a 98-stock portfolio. About 91% of assets sat in U.S. companies, with most of the rest in companies based in Bermuda, Israel, Singapore and Ireland. The prospectus flags information technology, including software and semiconductors, as an area of likely heavy exposure.
How has TAX ETF performed since launch?
TAX returned 16.73% in 2025, its first full calendar year, according to its prospectus. Its strongest quarter gained 12.93% (ended June 30, 2025) and its weakest lost 5.96% (ended March 31, 2025). Based on market prices, it returned 7.5% over the year to October 27, 2026, and 7.6% in 2026 through that date. The ride was uneven: it fell 27.5% from February 4 to April 8, 2025, then recovered by November 12, 2025. That is too short a record to judge long-term results.
What is the TAX ETF expense ratio?
TAX's expense ratio is 0.54% a year, including a 0.49% management fee, according to the prospectus filed March 25, 2026. The SEC's standard example, which assumes $10,000 invested, a 5% yearly return and shares redeemed at the end of each period, puts total costs at about $55 after one year, $173 after three, $302 after five and $677 after ten. The fee is taken from fund assets rather than billed separately.