Which has more room to gain, BMAR or GFEB?

From their prices on Oct 13, 2026, BMAR can gain about 5.6% before its cap and GFEB about 3.5%, so BMAR has more room left this period.

Which resets first, BMAR or GFEB?

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

Which is cheaper, BMAR or GFEB?

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

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BMAR vs GFEB: Cap, Buffer & Days Left

As of Oct 13, 2026 BMAR can fall 9.8% before its buffer engages and GFEB 7.7%, and GFEB resets 9 days sooner. Net assets on Oct 12, 2026: $206m for Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Mar and $374m for FT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - February.

BMAR costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.3 points; GFEB is 1.8 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

BMAR vs GFEB: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
	BMAR	GFEB
Expense ratio	0.79%	0.85%
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026	$206m	$374m
Total return, 1 year	+17.1%	+12.8%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published
Index fall to the buffer	11.7%	11.3%

9.8%

BMAR can fall this far before its buffer

7.7%

GFEB can fall this far before its buffer

5.6%

BMAR can still gain

3.5%

GFEB can still gain

BMARBetween buffer and cap

BMAR: reference +13.3% since period start, fund +10.3%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +17.0%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 13, 2026.

GFEBAt its cap

GFEB: reference +12.7% since period start, fund +7.5%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +12.1%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 13, 2026.

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

BMAR 19.7

GFEB 62.2

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 →

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

Where each one stands today

GFEB resets first, on Feb 19, 2027, 129 days from now; BMAR runs to Feb 28, 2027, 138 days. BMAR can still gain 5.6% before its cap, GFEB 3.5%. A fall from here reaches BMAR’s buffer after 9.8% and GFEB’s after 7.7%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.

Performance, window by window

Performance, window by window: BMAR vs GFEB: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
	Total return		Gap to the reference's price return
Window	BMAR	GFEB	BMAR	GFEB
3 months	+3.5%	+2.8%	−0.3 pts	−1.0 pts
6 months	+9.8%	+7.2%	−3.7 pts	−6.2 pts
1 year	+17.1%	+12.8%	−2.0 pts	−6.3 pts
3 years	+63.4%	+46.6%	−16.9 pts	−33.8 pts
Since launch Not the same days: BMAR Mar 2020 · GFEB Feb 2023	+123.8%	+56.3%	−28.0 pts	−38.7 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

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

GFEB

FT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - February · Absorbs the first 15% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 12.1%, over a period ending Feb 19, 2027

Issuer Innovator First Trust

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 9% 15%

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

Days left 138 129

Starting cap +17.0% +12.1%

Can still gain 5.6% 3.5%

Fall before buffer 9.8% 7.7%

Protection left, index points 9.0% of 9.0% 15.0% of 15.0%

Index return this period +13.3% +12.7%

Fund return this period +10.3% +7.5%

State today Open At cap

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.85%

Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026 $206m $374m

As of Oct 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

About BMAR

From its price on Oct 13, 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 11.7% 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 GFEB

SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +12.1% 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 7.7% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 11.3% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 15.0% of the 15.0% 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

Which has more room to gain, BMAR or GFEB?: From their prices on Oct 13, 2026, BMAR can gain about 5.6% before its cap and GFEB about 3.5%, so BMAR has more room left this period.
Which resets first, BMAR or GFEB?: BMAR ends its outcome period on Feb 28, 2027 and GFEB on Feb 19, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, BMAR or GFEB?: BMAR charges 0.79% a year and GFEB charges 0.85%, so BMAR is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BMAR vs FFEB BMAR vs DFEB BMAR vs UMAR BMAR vs ZMAR GFEB vs UMAR GFEB vs ZMAR GFEB vs MARW GFEB vs XFEB

SPY →BMAR on its own →GFEB 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 ↗GFEB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗First Trust page for GFEB ↗

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, BMAR against GFEB, data as of Oct 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bmar-vs-gfeb

Open data

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