Which has more room to gain, BMAR or FFEB?

From their prices on Oct 9, 2026, BMAR can gain about 5.6% before its cap and FFEB about 4.5%, so BMAR has more room left this period.

Which resets first, BMAR or FFEB?

BMAR ends its outcome period on Feb 28, 2027 and FFEB on Feb 19, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, BMAR or FFEB?

BMAR charges 0.79% a year and FFEB charges 0.85%, so BMAR is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Share on X Download as PDF Open live Compare their flows Ask IQ about these two funds

BMAR vs FFEB: Cap, Buffer & Days Left

As of Oct 9, 2026 BMAR can fall 9.8% before its buffer engages and FFEB 9.2%, and FFEB resets 9 days sooner. Net assets on Oct 9, 2026: $206m for Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Mar and $1.4bn for FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - February.

BMAR costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.2 points; FFEB is 6.7 times larger.

	BMAR	FFEB
Expense ratio	0.79%	0.85%
Net assets	$206m	$1.4bn
Total return, 1 year	+15.5%	+14.3%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published
Index fall to the buffer	11.9%	11.4%

9.8%

BMAR can fall this far before its buffer

9.2%

FFEB can fall this far before its buffer

5.6%

BMAR can still gain

4.5%

FFEB can still gain

BMARBetween buffer and cap

BMAR: reference +13.5% since period start, fund +10.3%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +17.0%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.

FFEBBetween buffer and cap

FFEB: reference +12.9% since period start, fund +9.2%; buffer 0 to −10; cap +15.0%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.

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

BMAR 19.2

FFEB 36.6

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

FFEB resets first, on Feb 19, 2027, 133 days from now; BMAR runs to Feb 28, 2027, 142 days. BMAR can still gain 5.6% before its cap, FFEB 4.5%. A fall from here reaches BMAR’s buffer after 9.8% and FFEB’s after 9.2%. 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	FFEB	BMAR	FFEB
3 months	+3.1%	+3.0%	0.0 pts	−0.2 pts
6 months	+10.3%	+9.7%	−4.3 pts	−4.9 pts
1 year	+15.5%	+14.3%	−0.5 pts	−1.7 pts
3 years	+62.5%	+60.2%	−16.6 pts	−19.0 pts

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

On the same fields

BMAR

Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Mar · Absorbs the first 9% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 17.0%, over a period ending Feb 28, 2027

FFEB

FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - February · Absorbs the first 10% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 15.0%, over a period ending Feb 19, 2027

Issuer Innovator First Trust

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 9% 10%

Outcome period Feb 28, 2026 to Feb 28, 2027 Feb 23, 2026 to Feb 19, 2027

Days left 142 133

Starting cap +17.0% +15.0%

Can still gain 5.6% 4.5%

Fall before buffer 9.8% 9.2%

Protection left, index points 9.0% of 9.0% 10.0% of 10.0%

Index return this period +13.5% +12.9%

Fund return this period +10.3% +9.2%

State today Open Open

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.85%

Net assets $206m $1.4bn

As of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

BMAR in plain words

From its price on Oct 9, 2026, the fund can gain about 5.6% 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 11.9% 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. 142 days remained on Oct 9, 2026. On Feb 28, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

FFEB in plain words

From its price on Oct 9, 2026, the fund can gain about 4.5% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 9.2% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 11.4% 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. 133 days remained on Oct 9, 2026. On Feb 19, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

Questions people ask

Which has more room to gain, BMAR or FFEB?: From their prices on Oct 9, 2026, BMAR can gain about 5.6% before its cap and FFEB about 4.5%, so BMAR has more room left this period.
Which resets first, BMAR or FFEB?: BMAR ends its outcome period on Feb 28, 2027 and FFEB on Feb 19, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, BMAR or FFEB?: BMAR charges 0.79% a year and FFEB charges 0.85%, so BMAR is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BMAR vs PMAR BMAR vs DFEB BMAR vs GFEB BMAR vs UMAR FFEB vs UMAR FFEB vs GFEB FFEB vs ZMAR FFEB vs DFEB

SPY →BMAR on its own →FFEB on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

BMAR filings on SEC EDGAR ↗Innovator page for BMAR ↗FFEB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗First Trust page for FFEB ↗

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, BMAR against FFEB, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bmar-vs-ffeb

Open data

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