Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
MAYP vs SPYM: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, MAYP returned +9.9% to SPYM's +13.7%, and SPYM charges 0.02% to MAYP's 0.50%.
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Net assets: $38m on Oct 28, 2026 for PGIM S&P 500 Buffer 12 ETF - May, and $185.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF.
Pair scorecard
SPYM costs 0.48 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.8 points; SPYM is far larger, $185.0bn against $37m.
| Measure | MAYP | SPYM |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +9.9% | +13.7% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 7.0% | |
| Fund price fall to the buffer | 5.9% | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | SPY | S&P 500 Index |
| The outcome period | ||
| Room to the cap | 8.1% | |
| Buffer left, in index points | 12.0% of 12.0% | |
| Days left in the period | 184 | |
| Period ends | Apr 30, 2027 | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.50% | 0.02% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $37m | $185.0bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 100% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 38.1% | |
Risk and return
May 10, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026 · 128 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: MAYP against SPY, May 10, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026; SPYM against IVV, Nov 25, 2005 to Oct 23, 2026.
SPYM returned more: +50.5% to +29.9%. MAYP swung less: 8.0% to 14.6%. MAYP fell less at its worst: −9.8% to −16.8%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | MAYP | SPYM | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +29.9% | +50.5% | SPYM | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +11.2% | +18.1% | SPYM | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +29.9% | +46.0% | SPYM | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 8.0% | 14.6% | MAYP | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 5.6% | 9.5% | MAYP | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −9.8% | −16.8% | MAYP | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 38.3% | 94.1% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 49.2% | 96.9% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 0.51 | 0.96 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.85 | 0.95 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.83 | 0.92 | SPYM (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.20 | 1.41 | SPYM | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.132 | 0.106 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 1.14 | 1.07 | MAYP (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | SPY | IVV | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −0.1% a year | +0.4% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.03 | 0.53 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −4.1% to +4.0% | −1.2% to +2.0% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | −0.85 | 0.00 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 7.9% | 3.8% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
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
MAYP and SPYM on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
MAYP and SPYM do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. MAYP follows SPY and SPYM follows S&P 500 Index.
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 MAYP returned +9.9% and SPYM +13.7% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 3.8 points.
- Cost. MAYP charges 0.50% of assets a year and SPYM 0.02%, a gap of 0.48 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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MAYP
From its price on Oct 28, 2026, the fund can gain about 8.1% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 5.9% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 7.0% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 12.0% of the 12.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 184 days remained on Oct 28, 2026. On Apr 30, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
SPYM
SPYM tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.7% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.02% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 506 positions, with the top ten at 38.1%.
Questions people ask
- Are MAYP and SPYM in the same category?
- MAYP is a buffer ETF and SPYM 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, MAYP or SPYM?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, MAYP returned +9.9% and SPYM +13.7%.
- Which is cheaper, MAYP or SPYM?
- SPYM is cheaper, by 0.48 percentage points a year. That is about $48 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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ETFIQ, MAYP against SPYM, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/mayp-vs-spym
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). MAYP against SPYM. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/mayp-vs-spym
[MAYP against SPYM (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/mayp-vs-spym)
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