Which is cheaper, SPYM or SQBA?

SPYM charges 1.30% a year and SQBA charges 0.85%, so SQBA is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Are SPYM and SQBA the same kind of fund?

No. SPYM is an index ETF and SQBA is a buffer ETF, so they are built for different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and what each actually holds.

Data as of Sep 13, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

SPYM vs SQBA: how they differ

SPYM and SQBA are measured over different days, and SQBA charges 0.85% against 1.30%.

State Street(R) SPDR(R) Portfolio S&P 500(R) ETF and FT Vest U.S. Equity Quarterly 15 Buffer ETF.

SPYM and SQBA on the fields both publish, as of Sep 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	SPYM State Street(R) SPDR(R) Portfolio S&P 500(R) ETF	SQBA FT Vest U.S. Equity Quarterly 15 Buffer ETF
Where it sits	Core index fund	Buffer ETF
Issuer	State Street	First Trust
What it is	S&P 500	Defined outcome, 15% on SPY
Total return, 1 year	+17.6%	not published
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	not published
Gap to the S&P 500	+0.1 pts	not available
Expense ratio	1.30%	0.85%
Holdings	507	not filed

SPYM in plain words

SPYM is an index equity fund tracking the S&P 500. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +17.6% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 1.30% a year. By its holdings filed for Sep 10, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 507 positions, with the top ten at 38.1%.

SQBA in plain words

From its price on Sep 13, 2026, the fund can gain about 2.2% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 0.4% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 0.0% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 14.8% of the 15.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 70 days remained on Sep 13, 2026. On Nov 20, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.

Questions people ask

Which is cheaper, SPYM or SQBA?: SPYM charges 1.30% a year and SQBA charges 0.85%, so SQBA is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Are SPYM and SQBA the same kind of fund?: No. SPYM is an index ETF and SQBA is a buffer ETF, so they are built for different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and what each actually holds.

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Where these figures came from

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.

SPYM against SQBA, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 13, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, SPYM against SQBA, data as of Sep 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spym-vs-sqba Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources