Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
SPYM vs XJAN: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, SPYM returned +14.8% to XJAN's +9.2%, and SPYM charges 0.02% to XJAN's 0.85%.
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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $181.7bn for State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF and $72m for FT Vest U.S. Equity Enhance & Moderate Buffer ETF - January.
Pair scorecard
SPYM costs 0.83 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.6 points; SPYM is far larger, $181.7bn against $72m.
| Measure | SPYM | XJAN |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +14.8% | +9.2% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 9.8% | |
| Fund price fall to the buffer | 7.6% | |
| 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 | 72 | |
| Period ends | Jan 15, 2027 | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.02% | 0.85% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $181.7bn | $72m |
| 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
Feb 2, 2024 to Oct 30, 2026 · 143 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: SPYM against IVV, Nov 25, 2005 to Oct 30, 2026; XJAN against SPY, Feb 2, 2024 to Oct 30, 2026.
From Feb 2024 to Oct 2026, SPYM returned more: +58.2% to +26.4%. XJAN swung less: 5.9% to 14.2%. XJAN fell less at its worst: −8.7% to −16.8%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SPYM | XJAN | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +58.2% | +26.4% | SPYM | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +18.1% | +8.9% | SPYM | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +53.0% | +26.4% | SPYM | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 14.2% | 5.9% | XJAN | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 9.3% | 4.2% | XJAN | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −16.8% | −8.7% | XJAN | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 94.1% | 26.4% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 96.9% | 34.0% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 0.96 | 0.37 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.95 | 0.80 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.94 | 0.74 | SPYM | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.44 | 1.04 | SPYM | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.106 | 0.117 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 1.08 | 1.02 | SPYM (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | IVV | SPY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +0.4% a year | −0.6% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.52 | −0.37 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −1.2% to +2.0% | −3.7% to +2.6% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.00 | −0.96 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 3.8% | 9.3% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 143 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Side by side
SPYM and XJAN on the fields both publish, as of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
Client brief:
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SPYM
SPYM 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 0.02% 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 506 positions, with the top ten at 37.3%.
SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +9.9% 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 1.7% as the period runs out.
The fund's price can fall 7.6% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 9.8% 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. 72 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Jan 15, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
Questions people ask
- Are SPYM and XJAN in the same category?
- SPYM is a stock ETF and XJAN 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, SPYM or XJAN?
- In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPYM returned +14.8% and XJAN +9.2%.
- Which is cheaper, SPYM or XJAN?
- SPYM is cheaper, by 0.83 percentage points a year. That is about $83 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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ETFIQ, SPYM against XJAN, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spym-vs-xjan
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[SPYM against XJAN (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spym-vs-xjan)
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