Are SPY and UNOV in the same category?

SPY is a stock ETF and UNOV is a buffer ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.

Which returned more over the last year, SPY or UNOV?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPY returned +13.6% and UNOV +11.0%.

Which is cheaper, SPY or UNOV?

SPY is cheaper, by 0.70 percentage points a year. That is about $70 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

SPY vs UNOV: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SPY returned +13.6% to UNOV's +11.0%, and SPY charges 0.09% to UNOV's 0.79%.

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Net assets: $814.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, and $105m on Oct 28, 2026 for Innovator U.S. Equity Ultra Buffer ETF - Nov.

SPY on its own →UNOV on its own →

At a glance

+13.6%

SPY total return, 1 year

+11.0%

UNOV total return, 1 year

0.09%

SPY expense ratio

0.79%

UNOV expense ratio

Pair scorecard

SPY costs 0.70 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.6 points; SPY is far larger, $814.8bn against $105m.

SPY vs UNOV: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	SPY	UNOV
Return
Measure	SPY	UNOV
Total return, 1 year	+13.6%	+11.0%
Drawdown
Measure	SPY	UNOV
Index fall to the buffer		16.0%
Fund price fall to the buffer		15.2%
Benchmark
Measure	SPY	UNOV
What it tracks	S&P 500 Index	SPY
The outcome period
Measure	SPY	UNOV
Buffer left, in index points		30.0% of 30.0%
Days left in the period		3
Period ends		Oct 31, 2026
Cost and size
Measure	SPY	UNOV
Expense ratio	0.09%	0.79%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$814.8bn	$105m
Holdings
Measure	SPY	UNOV
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight	100%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	38.1%

Method

Risk and return

Nov 8, 2019 to Oct 23, 2026 · 363 weekly returns

SPY UNOV

Return

Total return edge SPY +172.0% +61.3%

Annualized edge SPY +15.4% +7.1%

Price return edge SPY +146.0% +61.3%

Risk

Volatility edge UNOV 18.6% 7.4%

Max drawdown edge UNOV −31.8% −13.7%

Downside capture 100.0% 43.1%

Beta 1.00 0.36

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge SPY 0.71 0.57

Sortino edge SPY 1.03 0.81

Treynor 0.133 0.117

Calmar edge UNOV (slight) 0.48 0.52

Against the benchmark

Alpha −0.1% a year −0.5% a year

Alpha t-stat −0.51 −0.44

Information ratio −0.15 −0.73

Tracking error 0.4% 12.3%

Each against its own benchmark: SPY against VOO, Sep 17, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026; UNOV against SPY, Nov 8, 2019 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

SPY returned more: +172.0% to +61.3%. UNOV swung less: 7.4% to 18.6%. UNOV fell less at its worst: −13.7% to −31.8%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: SPY vs UNOV: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	SPY	UNOV	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+172.0%	+61.3%	SPY	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+15.4%	+7.1%	SPY	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+146.0%	+61.3%	SPY	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	18.6%	7.4%	UNOV	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	12.8%	5.2%	UNOV	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−31.8%	−13.7%	UNOV	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	99.8%	25.8%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	100.0%	43.1%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	1.00	0.36	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	1.00	0.82	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.71	0.57	SPY	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	1.03	0.81	SPY	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.133	0.117		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.48	0.52	UNOV (slight)	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	VOO	SPY		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	−0.1% a year	−0.5% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−0.51	−0.44	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−0.3% to +0.1%	−2.9% to +1.8%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.15	−0.73		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	0.4%	12.3%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 363 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Side by side

SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust UNOV Innovator U.S. Equity Ultra Buffer ETF - Nov

Where it sits Stock ETF Buffer ETF

Issuer State Street Innovator

What it is Tracks the S&P 500 Defined outcome, 5% to 35% on SPY

Total return, 1 year +13.6% +11.0%

Its benchmark over the same days +13.7% (VOO) +12.4% (SPY)

Gap to its benchmark −0.1 pts vs VOO −1.4 pts vs SPY

Expense ratio 0.09% 0.79%

Holdings 504 not read by ETFIQ

Net assets, SPY as of Oct 27, 2026 and UNOV as of Oct 28, 2026 $814.8bn $105m

SPY and UNOV on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-F27ECE52BC

SPY and UNOV do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. SPY follows S&P 500 Index and UNOV follows SPY.
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 SPY returned +13.6% and UNOV +11.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.6 points.
Cost. SPY charges 0.09% of assets a year and UNOV 0.79%, a gap of 0.70 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

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%.

UNOV

SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +12.0% 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 0.1% as the period runs out.

The fund's price can fall 15.2% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 16.0% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 30.0% of the 30.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 3 days remained on Oct 28, 2026. On Oct 31, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.

Questions people ask

Are SPY and UNOV in the same category?: SPY is a stock ETF and UNOV is a buffer ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
Which returned more over the last year, SPY or UNOV?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPY returned +13.6% and UNOV +11.0%.
Which is cheaper, SPY or UNOV?: SPY is cheaper, by 0.70 percentage points a year. That is about $70 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

FEBM vs SPY DDFM vs SPY JNEU vs SPY AJAN vs SPY UNOV vs VOO SPYM vs UNOV IVV vs UNOV SPY vs XJUL

Where to next

SPY on its own →UNOV on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →SPY dividend history →SPY holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

SPY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

State Street website ↗

UNOV filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

Innovator page for UNOV ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, SPY against UNOV, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-unov

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.