Which resets first, AIOO or DDEC?

AIOO ends its outcome period on Dec 31, 2026 and DDEC on Dec 18, 2026. New terms are set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, AIOO or DDEC?

AIOO charges 0.64% a year and DDEC charges 0.85%, so AIOO is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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AIOO vs DDEC: Cap, Buffer & Days Left

As of Oct 9, 2026 DDEC can fall 13.6% before its buffer engages and AIOO 0.5%, and DDEC resets 13 days sooner. Net assets: $63m on Oct 8, 2026 for AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer100 Protection ETF - Jan, and $432m on Oct 9, 2026 for FT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - December.

AIOO costs 0.21 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 7.9 points; DDEC is 6.8 times larger.

	AIOO	DDEC
Expense ratio	0.64%	0.85%
Net assets, as of Oct 8, 2026	$63m	$431m
Total return, 1 year	+3.9%	+11.8%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published
Index fall to the buffer	2.0%	17.0%

0.5%

AIOO can fall this far before its buffer

13.6%

DDEC can fall this far before its buffer

uncapped

AIOO can still gain

2.0%

DDEC can still gain

AIOONo cap

AIOO: reference +2.1% since period start, fund +0.5%; buffer Floor; no cap; No cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.

Figures to Oct 9, 2026.

DDECAt its cap

DDEC: reference +14.4% since period start, fund +9.0%; buffer −5 to −30; cap +12.0%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.

These are two different products. AIOO is a floor fund, which caps how far a holder can fall. DDEC is a buffer fund, which absorbs the first part of a fall and leaves everything below it with the holder.

AIOO has no cap. It takes 30% of whatever the index does, where DDEC takes all of the rise up to 12.0% and nothing above it.

DDEC is already at its cap, so more rise in the index adds nothing to it before the period ends.

Where each one stands today

DDEC resets first, on Dec 18, 2026, 70 days from now; AIOO runs to Dec 31, 2026, 83 days. A fall from here reaches AIOO’s buffer after 0.5% and DDEC’s after 13.6%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.

Performance, window by window

	Total return		Gap to the reference's price return
Window	AIOO	DDEC	AIOO	DDEC
3 months	+0.8%	+2.8%	−2.3 pts	−0.3 pts
6 months	+3.0%	+8.4%	−11.6 pts	−6.2 pts
1 year	+3.9%	+11.8%	−12.2 pts	−4.2 pts
3 years	not published	+44.4%	not published	−34.8 pts

Each fund's gap is to its reference's price return, dividends left out: the basis the outcome period uses. Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →

On the same fields

AIOO

AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer100 Protection ETF - Jan · Absorbs the whole loss on SPY and does not cap the gain, over a period ending Dec 31, 2026

DDEC

FT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - December · Absorbs losses from 5.0% to 30.0% on SPY and caps the gain at 12.0%, over a period ending Dec 18, 2026

Issuer AllianzIM First Trust

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 100% 5% to 30%

Outcome period Oct 1, 2026 to Dec 31, 2026 Dec 22, 2025 to Dec 18, 2026

Days left 83 70

Starting cap uncapped +12.0%

Can still gain uncapped 2.0%

Fall before buffer 0.5% 13.6%

Protection left, index points 100.0% of 100.0% 25.0% of 25.0%

Index return this period +2.1% +14.4%

Fund return this period +0.5% +9.0%

State today Uncapped At cap

Expense ratio 0.64% 0.85%

Net assets, AIOO as of Oct 8, 2026 and DDEC as of Oct 9, 2026 $63m $432m

As of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

AIOO in plain words

This fund has no cap. It takes a share of any further rise in SPY. The fund's price can fall 0.5% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 2.0% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 100.0% of the 100.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 83 days remained on Oct 9, 2026. On Dec 31, 2026 the period ends and new terms are set.

DDEC in plain words

SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +12.0% for the period on Oct 9, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's own price can still drift up to about 2.0% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 13.6% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 17.0% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 25.0% of the 25.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 70 days remained on Oct 9, 2026. On Dec 18, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.

Questions people ask

Which resets first, AIOO or DDEC?: AIOO ends its outcome period on Dec 31, 2026 and DDEC on Dec 18, 2026. New terms are set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, AIOO or DDEC?: AIOO charges 0.64% a year and DDEC charges 0.85%, so AIOO is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AIOO vs BJAN AIOO vs ZOCT AIOO vs EALT AIOO vs SIXJ DDEC vs QBSF DDEC vs JANT DDEC vs PBJA DDEC vs SQMX

SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust →All buffer ETFs ranked by the Downside Cover Score →How the scores are computed →AIOO on its own →DDEC on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

AIOO filings on SEC EDGAR ↗AllianzIM page for AIOO ↗DDEC filings on SEC EDGAR ↗First Trust page for DDEC ↗

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

ETFIQ calculates every figure from each issuer’s published outcome-period terms. Buffer ETFs hold options on an index, not shares, so there is no holdings overlap to report.

Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.

Cite this page

ETFIQ, AIOO against DDEC, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/aioo-vs-ddec

Open data

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