Which has more room to gain, BALT or SQMX?

From their prices on Oct 13, 2026, BALT can gain about 1.9% before its cap and SQMX about 1.9%, so the two have the same room left this period.

Which resets first, BALT or SQMX?

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

Which is cheaper, BALT or SQMX?

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

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BALT vs SQMX: Cap, Buffer & Days Left

As of Oct 13, 2026 SQMX can fall 1.1% before its buffer engages and BALT 0.5%, and SQMX resets 13 days sooner. Net assets on Oct 13, 2026: $3.1bn for Innovator Defined Wealth Shield ETF - Quarterly and $55m for FT Vest U.S. Equity Quarterly Max Buffer ETF.

BALT costs 0.16 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.8 points; BALT is far larger, $3.1bn against $55m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

BALT vs SQMX: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
	BALT	SQMX
Expense ratio	0.69%	0.85%
Net assets	$3.1bn	$55m
Total return, 1 year	+6.8%	+7.6%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published
Index fall to the buffer	2.0%	2.1%

0.5%

BALT can fall this far before its buffer

1.1%

SQMX can fall this far before its buffer

1.9%

BALT can still gain

1.9%

SQMX can still gain

BALTBetween buffer and cap

BALT: reference +2.0% since period start, fund +0.5%; buffer 0 to −20; cap +2.4%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 13, 2026.

SQMXBetween buffer and cap

SQMX: reference +2.1% since period start, fund +0.9%; buffer 0 to −12; cap +3.0%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 13, 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

SQMX 63.7

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

SQMX resets first, on Dec 18, 2026, 66 days from now; BALT runs to Dec 31, 2026, 79 days. BALT can still gain 1.9% before its cap, SQMX 1.9%. A fall from here reaches BALT’s buffer after 0.5% and SQMX’s after 1.1%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.

Performance, window by window

Performance, window by window: BALT vs SQMX: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
	Total return		Gap to the reference's price return
Window	BALT	SQMX	BALT	SQMX
3 months	+1.9%	+2.2%	−1.6 pts	−1.3 pts
6 months	+3.6%	+4.0%	−8.4 pts	−8.1 pts
1 year	+6.8%	+7.6%	−10.5 pts	−9.7 pts
3 years	+25.5%	not published	−54.8 pts	not published
Since launch Not the same days: BALT Jul 2021 · SQMX Dec 2024	+36.3%	+13.8%	−44.5 pts	−17.0 pts

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

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

SQMX

FT Vest U.S. Equity Quarterly Max Buffer ETF · Absorbs the first 12% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 3.0%, over a period ending Dec 18, 2026

Issuer Innovator First Trust

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 20% 12%

Outcome period Sep 30, 2026 to Dec 31, 2026 Sep 21, 2026 to Dec 18, 2026

Days left 79 66

Starting cap +2.4% +3.0%

Can still gain 1.9% 1.9%

Fall before buffer 0.5% 1.1%

Protection left, index points 20.0% of 20.0% 12.5% of 12.5%

Index return this period +2.0% +2.1%

Fund return this period +0.5% +0.9%

State today Open Open

Expense ratio 0.69% 0.85%

Net assets $3.1bn $55m

As of Oct 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

About BALT

From its price on Oct 13, 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. 79 days remained on Oct 13, 2026. On Dec 31, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.

About SQMX

The fund's price can fall 1.1% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 2.1% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 12.5% of the 12.5% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 66 days remained on Oct 13, 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 SQMX?: From their prices on Oct 13, 2026, BALT can gain about 1.9% before its cap and SQMX about 1.9%, so the two have the same room left this period.
Which resets first, BALT or SQMX?: BALT ends its outcome period on Dec 31, 2026 and SQMX on Dec 18, 2026. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, BALT or SQMX?: BALT charges 0.69% a year and SQMX charges 0.85%, so BALT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BALT vs JANP BALT vs XBOC BALT vs OCTU BALT vs OCTT SQMX vs PJAN SQMX vs FDEC SQMX vs ZALT SQMX vs DDEC

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

Where these figures came from

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

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 pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, BALT against SQMX, data as of Oct 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/balt-vs-sqmx

Open data

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