Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
DDFS vs FAUG: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Nov 4, 2026 FAUG can fall 1.6% before its buffer engages and DDFS 1.0%, and FAUG resets 11 days sooner.
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Net assets: $122m on Nov 4, 2026 for Innovator Equity Dual Directional 15 Buffer ETF - Sep, and $1.4bn on Nov 3, 2026 for FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - August.
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.FAUG: reference +0.1% since period start, fund +0.7%; buffer 0 to −10; cap +17.2%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
FAUG: reference +0.1% since period start, fund +0.7%; buffer 0 to −10; cap +17.2%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
DDFS costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.6 points; FAUG is 11.6 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | DDFS | FAUG |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +7.5% | +11.1% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.79% | 0.85% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $121m | $1.4bn |
| 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, FAUG returned more: +11.4% to +7.6%. DDFS swung less: 3.3% to 6.2%. DDFS fell less at its worst: −2.0% to −4.8%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | DDFS | FAUG | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +7.6% | +11.4% | FAUG | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +6.6% | +10.0% | FAUG | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | +7.6% | +11.4% | FAUG | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 3.3% | 6.2% | DDFS | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 2.0% | 3.6% | DDFS | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −2.0% | −4.8% | DDFS | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 20.9% | 44.1% | 100.0% | FAUG | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 22.5% | 52.1% | 100.0% | DDFS | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.24 | 0.49 | 1.00 | DDFS lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.77 | 0.88 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 0.82 | 0.94 | FAUG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | 1.37 | 1.62 | FAUG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | 0.111 | 0.119 | 0.104 | FAUG (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 3.26 | 2.07 | DDFS | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. | |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | SPY | SPY | SPY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +0.2% a year | +0.8% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.12 | 0.37 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −2.8% to +3.2% | −3.4% to +4.9% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −0.84 | −0.70 | FAUG | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 9.1% | 6.4% | 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 | DDFS | FAUG | DDFS | FAUG |
| 3 months | +1.1% | +1.0% | +1.5 pts | +1.4 pts |
| 6 months | +2.9% | +4.4% | −1.6 pts | −0.1 pts |
| 1 year | +7.5% | +11.1% | −6.1 pts | −2.5 pts |
| 3 years | – | +52.8% | – | −23.6 pts |
| Since launchNot the same days: DDFS Sep 2025 · FAUG Nov 2019 | +9.3% | +92.1% | −10.5 pts | −56.8 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.
These are two different products. FAUG is a floor fund, which caps how far a holder can fall. DDFS 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
FAUG resets first, on Aug 20, 2027, 289 days from now; DDFS runs to Aug 31, 2027, 300 days. DDFS can still gain 9.4% before its cap, FAUG 15.5%. A fall from here reaches DDFS’s buffer after 1.0% and FAUG’s after 1.6%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.
Client brief:
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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.
FAUG
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 15.5% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 1.6% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 0.1% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 10.0% of the 10.0% 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.
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, DDFS against FAUG, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/ddfs-vs-faug
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). DDFS against FAUG. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/ddfs-vs-faug
[DDFS against FAUG (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/ddfs-vs-faug)
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