Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
IMAY vs VEA: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IMAY returned +8.3% to VEA's +17.1%, and VEA charges 0.03% to IMAY's 0.85%.
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Net assets: $50m on Oct 28, 2026 for Innovator Intl Developed Power Buffer ETF - May, and $231.6bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF.
Pair scorecard
VEA costs 0.82 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 8.8 points.
| Measure | IMAY | VEA |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +8.3% | +17.1% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.4%, high on Aug 25, 2026 | |
| Index fall to the buffer | 1.3% | |
| Fund price fall to the buffer | 2.7% | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | EFA | FTSE Developed All Cap ex US Index |
| The outcome period | ||
| Room to the cap | 12.9% | |
| Buffer left, in index points | 15.0% of 15.0% | |
| Days left in the period | 184 | |
| Period ends | Apr 30, 2027 | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.85% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, IMAY as of Oct 28, 2026 and VEA as of Sep 30, 2026 | $50m | $231.6bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 13.6% | |
Risk and return
May 10, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026 · 128 weekly returnsVEA returned more: +47.1% to +23.9%. IMAY swung less: 9.2% to 15.4%. IMAY fell less at its worst: −8.0% to −11.5%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | IMAY | VEA | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +23.9% | +47.1% | VEA | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +9.1% | +17.0% | VEA | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +23.9% | +37.1% | VEA | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 9.2% | 15.4% | IMAY | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 6.5% | 10.8% | IMAY | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −8.0% | −11.5% | IMAY | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.53 | 0.82 | VEA | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.76 | 1.17 | VEA | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 1.13 | 1.47 | VEA | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 128 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Side by side
IMAY and VEA on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IMAY and VEA do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. IMAY follows EFA and VEA follows FTSE Developed All Cap ex US Index.
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 IMAY returned +8.3% and VEA +17.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 8.8 points.
- Cost. IMAY charges 0.85% of assets a year and VEA 0.03%, a gap of 0.82 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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IMAY
From its price on Oct 28, 2026, the fund can gain about 12.9% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 2.7% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, EFA can fall 1.3% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 15.0% of the 15.0% buffer still sits below today's EFA level. 184 days remained on Oct 28, 2026. On Apr 30, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
VEA
VEA tracks an index of Developed markets ex US. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +17.1% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 3,906 positions, with the top ten at 13.6%. It sat 4.4% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Are IMAY and VEA in the same category?
- IMAY is a buffer ETF and VEA is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, IMAY or VEA?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IMAY returned +8.3% and VEA +17.1%.
- Which is cheaper, IMAY or VEA?
- VEA is cheaper, by 0.82 percentage points a year. That is about $82 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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ETFIQ, IMAY against VEA, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/imay-vs-vea
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). IMAY against VEA. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/imay-vs-vea
[IMAY against VEA (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/imay-vs-vea)
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