Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
ISEP vs VEA: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ISEP returned +8.6% to VEA's +17.1%, and VEA charges 0.03% to ISEP's 0.85%.
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Net assets: $105m on Oct 28, 2026 for Innovator Intl Developed Power Buffer ETF - Sep, 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 8.5 points.
| Measure | ISEP | VEA |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +8.6% | +17.1% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.4%, high on Aug 25, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | EFA | FTSE Developed All Cap ex US Index |
| The outcome period | ||
| Room to the cap | 17.5% | |
| Buffer left, in index points | 11.4% of 15.0% | |
| Days left in the period | 307 | |
| Period ends | Aug 31, 2027 | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.85% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, ISEP as of Oct 28, 2026 and VEA as of Sep 30, 2026 | $105m | $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
Sep 8, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026 · 163 weekly returnsVEA returned more: +69.0% to +40.0%. ISEP swung less: 9.2% to 14.9%. ISEP fell less at its worst: −6.1% to −11.5%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | ISEP | VEA | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +40.0% | +69.0% | VEA | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +11.3% | +18.2% | VEA | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +40.0% | +53.5% | VEA | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 9.2% | 14.9% | ISEP | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 6.2% | 10.2% | ISEP | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −6.1% | −11.5% | ISEP | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.72 | 0.90 | VEA | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.07 | 1.31 | VEA | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 1.86 | 1.58 | ISEP | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 163 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Side by side
ISEP and VEA on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
ISEP and VEA do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. ISEP follows EFA and VEA follows FTSE Developed All Cap ex US Index.
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 ISEP returned +8.6% and VEA +17.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 8.5 points.
- Cost. ISEP 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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ISEP
From its price on Oct 28, 2026, the fund can gain about 17.5% more before it reaches its cap. Protection left, in index points: 11.4% of the 15.0% buffer still sits below today's EFA level. 307 days remained on Oct 28, 2026. On Aug 31, 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 ISEP and VEA in the same category?
- ISEP 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, ISEP or VEA?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ISEP returned +8.6% and VEA +17.1%.
- Which is cheaper, ISEP 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, ISEP against VEA, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/isep-vs-vea
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). ISEP against VEA. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/isep-vs-vea
[ISEP against VEA (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/isep-vs-vea)
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