BMAR vs DFEB: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Oct 13, 2026 DFEB can fall 12.3% before its buffer engages and BMAR 9.8%, and DFEB resets 9 days sooner. Net assets on Oct 13, 2026: $207m for Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Mar and $452m for FT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - February.
BMAR costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.0 points; DFEB is 2.2 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| BMAR | DFEB | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.79% | 0.85% |
| Net assets | $207m | $452m |
| Total return, 1 year | +16.2% | +12.2% |
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| Index fall to the buffer | 11.8% | 15.8% |
BMAR: reference +13.4% since period start, fund +10.3%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +17.0%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 13, 2026.
BMAR: reference +13.4% since period start, fund +10.3%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +17.0%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 13, 2026.
DFEB: reference +12.8% since period start, fund +7.3%; buffer −5 to −30; cap +11.9%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 13, 2026.
DFEB: reference +12.8% since period start, fund +7.3%; buffer −5 to −30; cap +11.9%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 13, 2026.
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 →
DFEB is already at its cap, so more rise in the index adds nothing to it before the period ends.
Where each one stands today
DFEB resets first, on Feb 19, 2027, 129 days from now; BMAR runs to Feb 28, 2027, 138 days. BMAR can still gain 5.5% before its cap, DFEB 3.5%. A fall from here reaches BMAR’s buffer after 9.8% and DFEB’s after 12.3%. 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 | BMAR | DFEB | BMAR | DFEB |
| 3 months | +3.3% | +2.7% | −0.2 pts | −0.8 pts |
| 6 months | +8.9% | +6.5% | −3.1 pts | −5.6 pts |
| 1 year | +16.2% | +12.2% | −1.1 pts | −5.2 pts |
| 3 years | +63.4% | +48.5% | −16.9 pts | −31.8 pts |
| Since launch Not the same days: BMAR Mar 2020 · DFEB Feb 2020 | +123.8% | +71.7% | −27.9 pts | −69.6 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
As of Oct 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
About BMAR
From its price on Oct 13, 2026, the fund can gain about 5.5% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 9.8% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 11.8% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 9.0% of the 9.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 138 days remained on Oct 13, 2026. On Feb 28, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
About DFEB
SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +11.9% for the period on Oct 13, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's own price can still drift up to about 3.5% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 12.3% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 15.8% 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. 129 days remained on Oct 13, 2026. On Feb 19, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
Questions people ask
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.
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ETFIQ, BMAR against DFEB, data as of Oct 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bmar-vs-dfeb
ETFIQ. (Oct 13, 2026). BMAR against DFEB. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bmar-vs-dfeb
[BMAR against DFEB (ETFIQ, Oct 13, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bmar-vs-dfeb)
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