Which has more room to gain, BALT or FDEC?

From their prices on Oct 9, 2026, BALT can gain about 1.9% before its cap and FDEC about 2.7%, so FDEC has more room left this period.

Which resets first, BALT or FDEC?

BALT ends its outcome period on Dec 31, 2026 and FDEC on Dec 18, 2026. A new cap is set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, BALT or FDEC?

BALT charges 0.69% a year and FDEC charges 0.85%, so BALT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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BALT vs FDEC: Cap, Buffer & Days Left

As of Oct 9, 2026 FDEC can fall 10.6% before its buffer engages and BALT 0.5%, and FDEC resets 13 days sooner. Net assets on Oct 9, 2026: $3.1bn for Innovator Defined Wealth Shield ETF - Quarterly and $1.3bn for FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - December.

BALT costs 0.16 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 7.7 points; BALT is 2.3 times larger.

	BALT	FDEC
Expense ratio	0.69%	0.85%
Net assets	$3.1bn	$1.3bn
Total return, 1 year	+6.9%	+14.6%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published
Index fall to the buffer	2.0%	12.6%

0.5%

BALT can fall this far before its buffer

10.6%

FDEC can fall this far before its buffer

1.9%

BALT can still gain

2.7%

FDEC can still gain

BALTBetween buffer and cap

BALT: reference +2.1% since period start, fund +0.5%; buffer 0 to −20; cap +2.4%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.

FDECBetween buffer and cap

FDEC: reference +14.4% since period start, fund +10.9%; buffer 0 to −10; cap +14.8%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.

ETFIQ Downside Cover Score · BALT scores higherIf the market falls into a bear market from here, how much does the buffer absorb?

BALT 99.8

FDEC 23.1

0.2, the lowest in this set99.8, the highest

A percentile among the 292 buffer ETFs on stocks with a live outcome period. Today's position against one 20% fall; it ignores smaller falls, and stock buffers are never ranked against bond or commodity ones. All buffer ETFs ranked by it → How it is computed →

Where each one stands today

FDEC resets first, on Dec 18, 2026, 70 days from now; BALT runs to Dec 31, 2026, 83 days. BALT can still gain 1.9% before its cap, FDEC 2.7%. A fall from here reaches BALT’s buffer after 0.5% and FDEC’s after 10.6%. 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	BALT	FDEC	BALT	FDEC
3 months	+2.0%	+3.1%	−1.1 pts	0.0 pts
6 months	+4.1%	+10.3%	−10.5 pts	−4.3 pts
1 year	+6.9%	+14.6%	−9.1 pts	−1.4 pts
3 years	+25.7%	+58.6%	−53.5 pts	−20.5 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

BALT

Innovator Defined Wealth Shield ETF - Quarterly · Absorbs the first 20% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 2.4%, over a period ending Dec 31, 2026

FDEC

FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - December · Absorbs the first 10% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 14.8%, over a period ending Dec 18, 2026

Issuer Innovator First Trust

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 20% 10%

Outcome period Sep 30, 2026 to Dec 31, 2026 Dec 22, 2025 to Dec 18, 2026

Days left 83 70

Starting cap +2.4% +14.8%

Can still gain 1.9% 2.7%

Fall before buffer 0.5% 10.6%

Protection left, index points 20.0% of 20.0% 10.0% of 10.0%

Index return this period +2.1% +14.4%

Fund return this period +0.5% +10.9%

State today Open Open

Expense ratio 0.69% 0.85%

Net assets $3.1bn $1.3bn

As of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

BALT in plain words

From its price on Oct 9, 2026, the fund can gain about 1.9% more before it reaches its cap. 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: 20.0% of the 20.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 83 days remained on Oct 9, 2026. On Dec 31, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.

FDEC in plain words

From its price on Oct 9, 2026, the fund can gain about 2.7% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 10.6% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 12.6% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 10.0% of the 10.0% 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 has more room to gain, BALT or FDEC?: From their prices on Oct 9, 2026, BALT can gain about 1.9% before its cap and FDEC about 2.7%, so FDEC has more room left this period.
Which resets first, BALT or FDEC?: BALT ends its outcome period on Dec 31, 2026 and FDEC on Dec 18, 2026. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, BALT or FDEC?: BALT charges 0.69% a year and FDEC charges 0.85%, so BALT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BALT vs PJAN BALT vs FSEP BALT vs POCT BALT vs ZALT FDEC vs PJAN FDEC vs ZALT FDEC vs GDEC FDEC vs JANW

SPY →BALT on its own →FDEC on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

Innovator page for BALT ↗FDEC filings on SEC EDGAR ↗First Trust page for FDEC ↗

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

How this is computed

It is a place in a set, not a rating or a recommendation.

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, BALT against FDEC, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/balt-vs-fdec

Open data

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