Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
QMAG vs QQQM: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, QMAG returned +10.9% to QQQM's +15.2%, and QQQM charges 0.15% to QMAG's 0.90%.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $99m for FT Vest Nasdaq-100 Moderate Buffer ETF - August and $110.4bn for Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF.
Pair scorecard
QQQM costs 0.75 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.3 points; QQQM is far larger, $110.4bn against $99m.
| Measure | QMAG | QQQM |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +10.9% | +15.2% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.5%, high on Oct 6, 2026 | |
| Index fall to the buffer | 1.7% | |
| Fund price fall to the buffer | 2.6% | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | QQQ | Nasdaq-100 Index |
| The outcome period | ||
| Room to the cap | 15.3% | |
| Buffer left, in index points | 15.0% of 15.0% | |
| Days left in the period | 296 | |
| Period ends | Aug 20, 2027 | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.90% | 0.15% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $99m | $110.4bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 96% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 46.7% | |
Risk and return
Aug 30, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026 · 112 weekly returns · each against QQQQQQM returned more: +49.7% to +28.4%. QMAG swung less: 9.2% to 20.3%. QMAG fell less at its worst: −11.1% to −21.2%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | QMAG | QQQM | QQQ | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +28.4% | +49.7% | QQQM | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +12.3% | +20.6% | QQQM | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | +28.4% | +47.9% | QQQM | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 9.2% | 20.3% | QMAG | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 6.1% | 13.2% | QMAG | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −11.1% | −21.2% | QMAG | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 31.4% | 99.7% | 100.0% | QQQM | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 51.2% | 99.8% | 100.0% | QMAG | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.42 | 1.00 | 1.00 | QMAG lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.88 | 1.00 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 0.86 | 0.82 | QMAG (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | 1.31 | 1.27 | QMAG (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | 0.187 | 0.168 | 0.167 | QMAG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 1.11 | 0.97 | QMAG | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. | |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | QQQ | QQQ | QQQ | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +0.9% a year | +0.1% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.40 | 0.61 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −3.4% to +5.2% | −0.2% to +0.4% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −0.72 | 0.08 | QQQM | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 12.2% | 0.3% | 0.0% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 112 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Side by side
QMAG and QQQM on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
QMAG and QQQM do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. QMAG follows QQQ and QQQM follows Nasdaq-100 Index.
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 QMAG returned +10.9% and QQQM +15.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 4.3 points.
- Cost. QMAG charges 0.90% of assets a year and QQQM 0.15%, a gap of 0.75 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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QMAG
From its price on Oct 28, 2026, the fund can gain about 15.3% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 2.6% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, QQQ can fall 1.7% 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 QQQ level. 296 days remained on Oct 28, 2026. On Aug 20, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
QQQM
QQQM tracks the Nasdaq-100. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +15.2% with distributions reinvested, against +15.2% for its benchmark, the Nasdaq-100 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 96% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 105 positions, with the top ten at 46.7%. It sat 4.5% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Are QMAG and QQQM in the same category?
- QMAG is a buffer ETF and QQQM 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, QMAG or QQQM?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QMAG returned +10.9% and QQQM +15.2%.
- Which is cheaper, QMAG or QQQM?
- QQQM is cheaper, by 0.75 percentage points a year. That is about $75 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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ETFIQ, QMAG against QQQM, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qmag-vs-qqqm
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). QMAG against QQQM. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qmag-vs-qqqm
[QMAG against QQQM (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qmag-vs-qqqm)
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