Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
DLMY vs SPY: Differences, Returns & Fees
DLMY and SPY are measured over different days, and SPY charges 0.09% to DLMY's 0.85%.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about DLMY and SPY
Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $12m for FT Vest U.S. Equity Dual Directional Buffer ETF - May and $804.8bn for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.
Pair scorecard
SPY costs 0.76 points a year less; SPY is far larger, $804.8bn against $12m.
| Measure | DLMY | SPY |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | not published | +14.8% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 3.6% | |
| Fund price fall to the buffer | 4.5% | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | SPY | S&P 500 Index |
| The outcome period | ||
| Room to the cap | 9.0% | |
| Buffer left, in index points | 10.0% of 10.0% | |
| Days left in the period | 198 | |
| Period ends | May 21, 2027 | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.85% | 0.09% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $12m | $804.8bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 100% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 37.3% | |
Risk and return
May 29, 2026 to Oct 30, 2026 · 22 weekly returnsFrom May 2026 to Oct 2026, DLMY returned more: +1.6% to +0.4%. DLMY fell less at its worst: −1.4% to −3.4%.
Full scorecard
3 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | DLMY | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +1.6% | +0.4% | DLMY | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Price return | +1.6% | −0.1% | DLMY | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Max drawdown | −1.4% | −3.4% | DLMY | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 22 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Side by side
DLMY and SPY on the fields both publish, as of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
No client brief for this pair: ETFIQ prints no one-year total return for DLMY.
DLMY
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 9.0% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 4.5% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 3.6% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 10.0% of the 10.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 198 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On May 21, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
SPY
SPY tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 it returned +14.8% with distributions reinvested, against +14.8% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Nov 3, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 504 positions, with the top ten at 37.3%.
Questions people ask
- Are DLMY and SPY in the same category?
- DLMY is a buffer ETF and SPY is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which is cheaper, DLMY or SPY?
- SPY is cheaper, by 0.76 percentage points a year. That is about $76 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, DLMY against SPY, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dlmy-vs-spy
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). DLMY against SPY. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dlmy-vs-spy
[DLMY against SPY (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dlmy-vs-spy)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.