Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
DDEC vs GDEC: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Nov 4, 2026 DDEC can fall 13.7% before its buffer engages and GDEC 9.2%.
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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $437m for FT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - December and $426m for FT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - December.
DDEC: reference +12.7% since period start, fund +9.1%; buffer −5 to −30; cap +12.0%; At its cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
DDEC: reference +12.7% since period start, fund +9.1%; buffer −5 to −30; cap +12.0%; At its cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.GDEC: reference +12.7% since period start, fund +9.2%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +12.1%; At its cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
GDEC: reference +12.7% since period start, fund +9.2%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +12.1%; At its cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
Both cost 0.85% a year; their one-year returns differ by 0.2 points.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | DDEC | GDEC |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +11.2% | +11.4% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 15.7% | 11.2% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.85% | 0.85% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $437m | $426m |
| 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
Dec 29, 2023 to Oct 30, 2026 · 148 weekly returns · each against SPYFrom Dec 2023 to Oct 2026, DDEC returned slightly more: +36.0% to +34.9%. DDEC swung slightly less: 6.4% to 6.6%. DDEC fell slightly less at its worst: −8.8% to −9.5%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | DDEC | GDEC | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +36.0% | +34.9% | DDEC (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +11.4% | +11.1% | DDEC (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | +36.0% | +34.9% | DDEC (slight) | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 6.4% | 6.6% | DDEC (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 4.1% | 4.5% | DDEC (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −8.8% | −9.5% | DDEC (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 36.1% | 35.1% | 100.0% | DDEC (slight) | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 45.3% | 44.5% | 100.0% | Tie | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.43 | 0.44 | 1.00 | Tie | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.92 | 0.89 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 1.04 | 0.96 | DDEC (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | 1.60 | 1.42 | DDEC | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | 0.153 | 0.143 | 0.141 | DDEC (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 1.29 | 1.17 | DDEC (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. | |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | SPY | SPY | SPY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +0.6% a year | +0.1% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.50 | 0.09 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −1.6% to +2.8% | −2.5% to +2.8% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −0.90 | −0.94 | DDEC (slight) | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 8.2% | 8.2% | 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, 148 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Window by window
| Total return | Gap to the reference's price return | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | DDEC | GDEC | DDEC | GDEC |
| 3 months | +1.7% | +1.7% | +2.1 pts | +2.1 pts |
| 6 months | +4.8% | +4.7% | +0.3 pts | +0.2 pts |
| 1 year | +11.2% | +11.4% | −2.3 pts | −2.2 pts |
| 3 years | +43.5% | – | −32.9 pts | – |
| Since launchNot the same days: DDEC Dec 2020 · GDEC Dec 2023 | +62.0% | +36.7% | −46.5 pts | −25.8 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.
Both are already at their cap, so neither gains from more rise in the index before the period ends.
Both are First Trust funds, so the difference between them is the terms rather than the house.
Where each one stands today
DDEC resets first, on Dec 18, 2026, 44 days from now; GDEC runs to Dec 18, 2026, 44 days. DDEC can still gain 1.8% before its cap, GDEC 1.8%. A fall from here reaches DDEC’s buffer after 13.7% and GDEC’s after 9.2%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.
Client brief:
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DDEC
SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +12.0% for the period on Nov 4, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's own price can still drift up to about 1.8% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 13.7% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 15.7% 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. 44 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Dec 18, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.
GDEC
SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +12.1% for the period on Nov 4, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's price can fall 9.2% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 11.2% 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.
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, DDEC against GDEC, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/ddec-vs-gdec
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). DDEC against GDEC. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/ddec-vs-gdec
[DDEC against GDEC (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/ddec-vs-gdec)
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