Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
SPY vs XMAR: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, SPY returned +14.8% to XMAR's +11.3%, and SPY charges 0.09% to XMAR's 0.85%.
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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $804.8bn for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust and $160m for FT Vest U.S. Equity Enhance & Moderate Buffer ETF - March.
Pair scorecard
SPY costs 0.76 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.5 points; SPY is far larger, $804.8bn against $160m.
| Measure | SPY | XMAR |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +14.8% | +11.3% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 15.4% | |
| Fund price fall to the buffer | 8.7% | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | S&P 500 Index | SPY |
| The outcome period | ||
| Buffer left, in index points | 15.0% of 15.0% | |
| Days left in the period | 135 | |
| Period ends | Mar 19, 2027 | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.85% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $804.8bn | $160m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 100% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 37.3% | |
Risk and return
Mar 31, 2023 to Oct 30, 2026 · 187 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: SPY against VOO, Sep 17, 2010 to Oct 30, 2026; XMAR against SPY, Mar 31, 2023 to Oct 30, 2026.
From Mar 2023 to Oct 2026, SPY returned more: +92.8% to +44.0%. XMAR swung less: 4.9% to 13.8%. XMAR fell less at its worst: −5.3% to −16.9%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SPY | XMAR | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +92.8% | +44.0% | SPY | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +20.0% | +10.7% | SPY | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +84.6% | +44.0% | SPY | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 13.8% | 4.9% | XMAR | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 8.8% | 3.3% | XMAR | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −16.9% | −5.3% | XMAR | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 99.8% | 24.0% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 100.0% | 22.9% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.00 | 0.31 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 1.00 | 0.80 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 1.06 | 1.17 | XMAR (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.66 | 1.72 | XMAR (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.132 | 0.180 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 1.19 | 2.01 | XMAR | 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 | +1.1% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.52 | 0.91 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −0.3% to +0.1% | −1.2% to +3.4% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | −0.15 | −0.93 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 0.4% | 9.7% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 187 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Side by side
SPY and XMAR on the fields both publish, as of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
Client brief:
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SPY
SPY tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 it returned +14.8% with distributions reinvested, against +14.8% 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 Nov 3, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 504 positions, with the top ten at 37.3%.
SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +12.2% for the period on Nov 4, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's own price can still drift up to about 2.6% as the period runs out.
The fund's price can fall 8.7% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 15.4% 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 SPY level. 135 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Mar 19, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
Questions people ask
- Are SPY and XMAR in the same category?
- SPY is a stock ETF and XMAR 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 XMAR?
- In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPY returned +14.8% and XMAR +11.3%.
- Which is cheaper, SPY or XMAR?
- SPY is cheaper, by 0.76 percentage points a year. That is about $76 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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ETFIQ, SPY against XMAR, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-xmar
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). SPY against XMAR. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-xmar
[SPY against XMAR (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-xmar)
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