Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
PMDE vs SPY: Differences, Returns & Fees
PMDE and SPY are measured over different days, and SPY charges 0.09% to PMDE's 0.50%.
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Net assets: $9.2m on Oct 28, 2026 for PGIM S&P 500 Max Buffer ETF - December, and $814.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.
Pair scorecard
SPY costs 0.41 points a year less; SPY is far larger, $814.8bn against $9.2m.
| Measure | PMDE | SPY |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | not published | +13.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 11.5% | |
| Fund price fall to the buffer | 5.8% | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | SPY | S&P 500 Index |
| The outcome period | ||
| Buffer left, in index points | 100.0% of 100.0% | |
| Days left in the period | 33 | |
| Period ends | Nov 30, 2026 | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.50% | 0.09% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $9.2m | $814.8bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 38.1% | |
Risk and return
Dec 12, 2025 to Oct 23, 2026 · 45 weekly returnsSPY returned more: +12.7% to +5.2%. PMDE fell less at its worst: −1.3% to −8.4%.
Full scorecard
3 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | PMDE | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +5.2% | +12.7% | SPY | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Price return | +5.2% | +11.5% | SPY | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Max drawdown | −1.3% | −8.4% | PMDE | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 45 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Side by side
PMDE and SPY on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
No client brief for this pair: ETFIQ prints no one-year total return for PMDE.
SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +7.0% for the period on Oct 28, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's own price can still drift up to about 0.8% as the period runs out.
The fund's price can fall 5.8% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 11.5% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 100.0% of the 100.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 33 days remained on Oct 28, 2026. On Nov 30, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.
SPY
SPY tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.6% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% 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 Oct 27, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 504 positions, with the top ten at 38.1%.
Questions people ask
- Are PMDE and SPY in the same category?
- PMDE 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, PMDE or SPY?
- SPY is cheaper, by 0.41 percentage points a year. That is about $41 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.
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ETFIQ, PMDE against SPY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/pmde-vs-spy
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). PMDE against SPY. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/pmde-vs-spy
[PMDE against SPY (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/pmde-vs-spy)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.