Which resets first, CPSY or DDEC?

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

Which is cheaper, CPSY or DDEC?

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

CPSY vs DDEC: which one stands where?

As of Oct 2, 2026 DDEC can fall 13.2% before its buffer engages and CPSY 4.6%, and DDEC resets 13 days sooner. Calamos S&P 500 ® Structured Alt Protection ETF - January and FT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - December.

CPSY costs 0.16 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.6 points; DDEC is 14.9 times larger.

	CPSY	DDEC
Expense ratio	0.69%	0.85%
Net assets	$29m	$430m
Total return, 1 year	+5.9%	+11.5%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published

CPSYAt its cap

CPSY: reference +12.7% since period start, fund +4.3%; buffer −1 to floor; cap +5.9%; At its cap.

DDECAt its cap

DDEC: reference +13.1% since period start, fund +8.4%; buffer −5 to −30; cap +12.0%; At its cap.

These are two different products. CPSY is a floor fund, which caps how far a holder can fall. DDEC is a buffer fund, which absorbs the first part of a fall and leaves everything below it with the holder.

Both are already at their cap, so neither gains from more rise in the index before the period ends.

Where each one stands today

DDEC resets first, on Dec 18, 2026, 77 days from now; CPSY runs to Dec 31, 2026, 90 days. A fall from here reaches CPSY’s buffer after 4.6% and DDEC’s after 13.2%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.

Every figure is ETFIQ’s own, from the issuer’s published outcome-period terms. A buffer ETF holds FLEX options on its reference index rather than shares, so there is no holdings overlap between two of them to report.

Performance, window by window

	Total return		Gap to the reference
Window	CPSY	DDEC	CPSY	DDEC
3 months	+1.7%	+3.0%	−1.9 pts	−0.6 pts
6 months	+4.4%	+9.7%	−13.6 pts	−8.3 pts
1 year	+5.9%	+11.5%	−10.3 pts	−4.8 pts
3 years	not published	+46.9%	not published	−42.4 pts

CPSY and DDEC over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →

On the same fields

CPSY

Calamos S&P 500 ® Structured Alt Protection ETF - January · Absorbs losses from 0.5% to 100.0% on SPY and caps the gain at 5.9%, over a period ending Dec 31, 2026

DDEC

FT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - December · Absorbs losses from 5.0% to 30.0% on SPY and caps the gain at 12.0%, over a period ending Dec 18, 2026

Issuer Calamos First Trust

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 1% to 100% 5% to 30%

Outcome period Jan 2, 2026 to Dec 31, 2026 Dec 22, 2025 to Dec 18, 2026

Days left 90 77

Starting cap +5.9% +12.0%

Can still gain not published 2.5%

Fall before buffer 4.6% 13.2%

Protection left, index points 99.5% of 99.5% 25.0% of 25.0%

Index return this period +12.7% +13.1%

Fund return this period +4.3% +8.4%

State today At cap At cap

Expense ratio 0.69% 0.85%

Net assets $29m $430m

CPSY and DDEC on the same fields, as of Oct 2, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

CPSY in plain words

SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +5.9% for the period on Oct 2, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's price can fall 4.6% 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: 99.5% of the 99.5% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 90 days remained on Oct 2, 2026. On Dec 31, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.

DDEC in plain words

SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +12.0% for the period on Oct 2, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's own price can still drift up to about 2.5% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 13.2% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 16.0% 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. 77 days remained on Oct 2, 2026. On Dec 18, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.

Questions people ask

Which resets first, CPSY or DDEC?: CPSY ends its outcome period on Dec 31, 2026 and DDEC on Dec 18, 2026. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, CPSY or DDEC?: CPSY charges 0.69% a year and DDEC charges 0.85%, so CPSY is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

CPSY vs PQV CPSY vs PQX CPSY vs PQXV CPSY vs PQXX DDEC vs PQV DDEC vs PQX DDEC vs PQXV DDEC vs PQXX

S&P 500 (SPY) →CPSY on its own →DDEC on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

CPSY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗Calamos website ↗DDEC filings on SEC EDGAR ↗First Trust page for DDEC ↗

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page

ETFIQ, CPSY against DDEC, data as of Oct 2, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/cpsy-vs-ddec

Open data

Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology.