Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
DAUG vs DDFS: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Nov 4, 2026 DAUG can fall 6.3% before its buffer engages and DDFS 1.0%, and DAUG resets 11 days sooner.
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Net assets: $445m on Nov 3, 2026 for FT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - August, and $122m on Nov 4, 2026 for Innovator Equity Dual Directional 15 Buffer ETF - Sep.
DAUG: reference +0.1% since period start, fund +0.5%; buffer −5 to −30; cap +13.8%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
DAUG: reference +0.1% since period start, fund +0.5%; buffer −5 to −30; cap +13.8%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.DDFS: reference −0.1% since period start, fund +0.8%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +10.5%; Buffer working. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
DDFS: reference −0.1% since period start, fund +0.8%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +10.5%; Buffer working. Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
DDFS costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.5 points; DAUG is 3.7 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | DAUG | DDFS |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +9.0% | +7.5% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 5.1% | 0.0% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.85% | 0.79% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $445m | $121m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
Risk and return
Sep 12, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026 · 59 weekly returns · each against SPYFrom Sep 2025 to Oct 2026, DAUG returned more: +9.3% to +7.6%. DDFS swung less: 3.3% to 5.1%. DDFS fell less at its worst: −2.0% to −3.9%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | DAUG | DDFS | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +9.3% | +7.6% | DAUG | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +8.1% | +6.6% | DAUG | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | +9.3% | +7.6% | DAUG | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 5.1% | 3.3% | DDFS | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 3.0% | 2.0% | DDFS | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −3.9% | −2.0% | DDFS | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 34.0% | 20.9% | 100.0% | DAUG | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 42.1% | 22.5% | 100.0% | DDFS | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.40 | 0.24 | 1.00 | DDFS lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.88 | 0.77 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 0.82 | 0.82 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | 1.39 | 1.37 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | 0.103 | 0.111 | 0.104 | DDFS (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 2.06 | 3.26 | DDFS | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. | |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | SPY | SPY | SPY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | 0.0% a year | +0.2% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.01 | 0.12 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −3.4% to +3.3% | −2.8% to +3.2% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −0.85 | −0.84 | Tie | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 7.3% | 9.1% | 0.0% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 59 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Window by window
| Total return | Gap to the reference's price return | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | DAUG | DDFS | DAUG | DDFS |
| 3 months | +0.7% | +1.1% | +1.1 pts | +1.5 pts |
| 6 months | +3.6% | +2.9% | −0.9 pts | −1.6 pts |
| 1 year | +9.0% | +7.5% | −4.6 pts | −6.1 pts |
| 3 years | +42.9% | – | −33.5 pts | – |
| Since launchNot the same days: DAUG Nov 2019 · DDFS Sep 2025 | +58.3% | +9.3% | −90.5 pts | −10.5 pts |
Each fund's gap is to its reference's price return, dividends left out: the basis the outcome period uses. – means no data for this window. Open this comparison in the app →
Side by side
As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
These are two different products. DDFS is a floor fund, which caps how far a holder can fall. DAUG is a buffer fund, which absorbs the first part of a fall and leaves everything below it with the holder.
Where each one stands today
DAUG resets first, on Aug 20, 2027, 289 days from now; DDFS runs to Aug 31, 2027, 300 days. DAUG can still gain 12.3% before its cap, DDFS 9.4%. A fall from here reaches DAUG’s buffer after 6.3% and DDFS’s after 1.0%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.
Client brief:
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DAUG
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 12.3% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 6.3% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 5.1% 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. 289 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Aug 20, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
DDFS
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 9.4% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 1.0% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 0.0% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 14.9% of the 15.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 300 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Aug 31, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
Questions people ask
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How this is computed
ETFIQ calculates every number 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 number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.
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ETFIQ, DAUG against DDFS, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/daug-vs-ddfs
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). DAUG against DDFS. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/daug-vs-ddfs
[DAUG against DDFS (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/daug-vs-ddfs)
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