ETF Evaluator:
ZEGA Buy and Hedge ETF ()
Follow This ETF
(as of Aug 26)
Best Performing in Derivative Income Over the Last Year
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Risk
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Risk
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ETF Details
ZEGA Buy and Hedge ETF Overview
ZEGA Buy and Hedge ETF (ZHDG) is an actively managed Nontraditional Equity Derivative Income exchange-traded fund (ETF). ZEGA Investments LLC launched the ETF in 2021.
The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation while mitigating overall market risk.
The fund invests in a combination of options, as well as fixed income securities, or other income producing securities, including preferred shares, through ETFs or other investment companies or through direct investments. The sub-adviser seeks to achieve exposure to the performance of the U.S. large capitalization equity market, generally recognized as the S&P 500® Index, through call index options, call options on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust or other ETFs that track the S&P 500, and FLexible EXchange® Options.
About ZEGA Buy and Hedge ETF (ZHDG)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 3.50 years: Jay Pestrichelli (2021) and Christopher Mullen (2024). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.
The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: S&P 500 (TR) (1970) index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. ZEGA Buy and Hedge ETF has 11 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 166.3% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
ZEGA Buy and Hedge ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the Nontraditional Equity ETF group. ZEGA Buy and Hedge ETF has 0.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 141.5% There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 11.9% (11.9% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). ZEGA Buy and Hedge ETF has -53.4% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $35 million in total assets, which is below the $727 million average for the Derivative Income category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
ZHDG Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The ZEGA Buy and Hedge ETF expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Derivative Income category. ZEGA Buy and Hedge ETF has an expense ratio of 0.97%, which is 17% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. ZEGA Buy and Hedge ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 106%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 69% for the Derivative Income category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, ZEGA Buy and Hedge ETF returned -0.3%, which earned it a grade of C, as the Derivative Income category had an average return of -1.5%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.
ZEGA Buy and Hedge ETF has a trailing yield of 2.47%, which is below the 19.96% category average.
The fund normally distributes its income annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
ZEGA Buy and Hedge ETF Grades
Year to date, the ETF has returned 4.2%, 1.7 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 11.0% over the past year (grade of D), 11.7% over the past three years (grade of D) and 5.6% per year over the past five years (grade of F).
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ZHDG Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| ZHDG Return (NAV) | -0.3% | 3.0% | 11.0% | 11.7% | 5.6% | na |
| ZHDG Return (Price) | -0.3% | 2.9% | 11.0% | 11.8% | 5.5% | na |
| NAV +/- Price Return | -0.013% | 0.118% | 0.018% | -0.099% | 0.065% | na |
| Derivative Income Avg | -1.5% | 0.6% | 11.2% | 13.7% | 8.8% | 7.5% |
| ZHDG Grade (NAV) | C | C | D | D | F | na |
| +/- Category (NAV) | 1.2% | 2.4% | -0.2% | -2.0% | -3.2% | na |
| ZHDG Tax-Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.9% | na |
ZHDG Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| ZHDG Return (NAV) | 4.2% | 14.0% | 17.8% | 13.1% | -22.1% | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| ZHDG Return (Price) | 3.7% | 14.3% | 18.0% | 13.1% | -22.1% | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| NAV +/- Price Ret | -0.130% | 0.026% | 0.013% | 0.001% | 0.001% | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Derivative Income Avg | 2.6% | 10.6% | 18.5% | 17.5% | -11.3% | 19.4% | 1.4% | 19.2% | -7.1% | 12.1% | 8.7% |
| ZHDG Grade (NAV) | D | C | C | C | F | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | 1.7% | 3.4% | -0.7% | -4.4% | -10.8% | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Risk Measures | |
| Beta: | 0.81 |
| R-Squared: | 96% |
| Standard Deviation: | 10.8% |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.82 |
| Category Risk Rating: | Average |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.88 |
| Total Risk Rating: | Below Average |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Yield: | 2.5% |
| Total Assets: | $ 35 Mil |
| Share Class Assets: | $ 35 Mil |
| Turnover: | 106.0% |
| Expense Ratio: | 0.97% |
| Index Fund: | No |
| Index Tracked: | S&P 500 (TR) (1970) |
| Index Weighting: | 100% |
| Leveraged: | No |
| Socially Responsible Fund: | No |
| Capital Gains Distribution Frequency: | |
| Income Distribution Frequency: | Annually |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 5.1 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 3.5 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Pestrichelli Jay (2021), Mullen Christopher (2024) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 7/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 11 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 166.3% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 0.0% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 141.5% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 11.9% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | -53.4% |
Purchase Information
| Legal Structure: | Open Ended Investment Company |
| Fund Family: | ZEGA Investments LLC |
| Phone Number: | 833-415-4006 |
| Website: | |
| Inception Date: | July 6, 2021 |
Expenses and Fees
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.97% (Rating: High) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.83% |
