Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
DAUG vs USEP: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Nov 4, 2026 DAUG can fall 6.3% before its buffer engages and USEP 5.6%, 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 $245m on Nov 4, 2026 for Innovator U.S. Equity Ultra 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.USEP: reference −0.1% since period start, fund +0.5%; buffer −5 to −35; cap +14.7%; In the unprotected slice. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
USEP: reference −0.1% since period start, fund +0.5%; buffer −5 to −35; cap +14.7%; In the unprotected slice. Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
USEP costs 0.06 points a year less; both returned +9.0% over a year; DAUG is 1.8 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | DAUG | USEP |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +9.0% | +9.0% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 5.1% | 4.9% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.85% | 0.79% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $445m | $243m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
How much of a bear-market fall the buffer would absorb from today's level, ranked against 292 buffer ETFs on stocks with a live outcome period. 100 is best. How it is computed
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 →
Risk and return
Nov 15, 2019 to Oct 30, 2026 · 363 weekly returns · each against SPYFrom Nov 2019 to Oct 2026, USEP returned more: +67.0% to +56.1%. USEP swung slightly less: 7.8% to 8.4%. USEP fell less at its worst: −13.0% to −15.2%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | DAUG | USEP | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +56.1% | +67.0% | USEP | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +6.6% | +7.6% | USEP | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | +56.1% | +65.9% | USEP | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 8.4% | 7.8% | USEP (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 6.0% | 5.4% | USEP (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −15.2% | −13.0% | USEP | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 31.5% | 29.6% | 100.0% | DAUG (slight) | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 53.7% | 48.0% | 100.0% | USEP | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.43 | 0.40 | 1.00 | USEP lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.89 | 0.89 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 0.45 | 0.61 | USEP | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | 0.64 | 0.88 | USEP | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | 0.089 | 0.120 | 0.130 | USEP | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 0.43 | 0.59 | USEP | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. | |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | SPY | SPY | SPY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −1.7% a year | −0.4% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −1.62 | −0.39 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −3.8% to +0.4% | −2.3% to +1.6% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −0.83 | −0.71 | USEP | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 11.0% | 11.6% | 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, 363 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Window by window
| Total return | Gap to the reference's price return | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | DAUG | USEP | DAUG | USEP |
| 3 months | +0.7% | +1.0% | +1.1 pts | +1.4 pts |
| 6 months | +3.6% | +3.7% | −0.9 pts | −0.8 pts |
| 1 year | +9.0% | +9.0% | −4.6 pts | −4.6 pts |
| 3 years | +42.9% | +43.2% | −33.5 pts | −33.2 pts |
| Since launchNot the same days: DAUG Nov 2019 · USEP Sep 2019 | +58.3% | +72.9% | −90.5 pts | −90.9 pts |
Each fund's gap is to its reference's price return, dividends left out: the basis the outcome period uses. Open this comparison in the app →
Side by side
As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
USEP has fallen through its protection. The index is 0.1% below where the buffer stops, and that part of the loss is the holder’s.
Where each one stands today
DAUG resets first, on Aug 20, 2027, 289 days from now; USEP runs to Aug 31, 2027, 300 days. DAUG can still gain 12.3% before its cap, USEP 14.0%. A fall from here reaches DAUG’s buffer after 6.3% and USEP’s after 5.6%. 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.
USEP
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 14.0% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 5.6% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 4.9% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 30.0% of the 30.0% 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
It is a place in a set, not a rating or a recommendation.
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 USEP, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/daug-vs-usep
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). DAUG against USEP. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/daug-vs-usep
[DAUG against USEP (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/daug-vs-usep)
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