CPSN vs PMDE: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Oct 21, 2026 CPSN can fall 6.3% before its buffer engages and PMDE 5.7%, and CPSN resets 31 days sooner. Net assets on Oct 21, 2026: $34m for Calamos S&P 500 Structured Alt Protection ETF - November and $9m for PGIM S&P 500 Max Buffer ETF - December.
PMDE costs 0.19 points a year less; CPSN is 3.7 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| CPSN | PMDE | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.69% | 0.50% |
| Net assets | $34m | $9m |
| Total return, 1 year | +6.2% | not published |
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| Index fall to the buffer | 11.6% | |
CPSN: reference +13.1% since period start, fund +6.0%; buffer Floor; cap +6.8%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 21, 2026.
Figures to Oct 21, 2026.
PMDE: reference +13.1% since period start, fund +5.5%; buffer Floor; cap +7.0%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 21, 2026.
Figures to Oct 21, 2026.
Both are already at their cap, so neither gains from more rise in the index before the period ends.
They do not reset together. CPSN has 9 days of its period left and PMDE has 40, so the two are not the same bet on the same months.
Where each one stands today
CPSN resets first, on Oct 30, 2026, 9 days from now; PMDE runs to Nov 30, 2026, 40 days. A fall from here reaches CPSN’s buffer after 6.3% and PMDE’s after 5.7%. 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 | CPSN | PMDE | CPSN | PMDE |
| 3 months | +2.0% | +1.8% | −1.4 pts | −1.7 pts |
| 6 months | +3.8% | +3.5% | −4.9 pts | −5.2 pts |
| 1 year | +6.2% | – | −9.0 pts | – |
| Since launch Not the same days: CPSN Nov 2024 · PMDE Dec 2025 | +13.0% | +5.5% | −22.4 pts | −8.1 pts |
Each fund's gap is to its reference's price return, dividends left out: the basis the outcome period uses. Source: ETFIQ. – means no data for this window, usually because the fund is younger than it. Open this comparison in the app →
On the same fields
As of Oct 21, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
About CPSN
SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +6.8% for the period on Oct 21, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's price can fall 6.3% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 11.6% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 100.0% of the 100.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 9 days remained on Oct 21, 2026. On Oct 30, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.
About PMDE
SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +7.0% for the period on Oct 21, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's own price can still drift up to about 0.9% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 5.7% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. 40 days remained on Oct 21, 2026. On Nov 30, 2026 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
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, CPSN against PMDE, data as of Oct 21, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/cpsn-vs-pmde
ETFIQ. (Oct 21, 2026). CPSN against PMDE. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/cpsn-vs-pmde
[CPSN against PMDE (ETFIQ, Oct 21, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/cpsn-vs-pmde)
Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.