Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
DDFS vs SEPW: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Nov 4, 2026 SEPW can fall 1.4% before its buffer engages and DDFS 1.0%.
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Net assets: $122m on Nov 4, 2026 for Innovator Equity Dual Directional 15 Buffer ETF - Sep, and $211m on Nov 3, 2026 for AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer20 ETF - Sep.
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.SEPW: reference 0.0% since period start, fund +0.6%; buffer 0 to −20; cap +12.3%; Buffer working. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
SEPW: reference 0.0% since period start, fund +0.6%; buffer 0 to −20; cap +12.3%; Buffer working. Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
SEPW costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.6 points; SEPW is 1.7 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | DDFS | SEPW |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +7.5% | +8.1% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.79% | 0.74% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $121m | $211m |
| 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, SEPW returned slightly more: +8.2% to +7.6%. DDFS swung less: 3.3% to 4.0%. DDFS fell less at its worst: −2.0% to −2.8%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | DDFS | SEPW | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +7.6% | +8.2% | SEPW (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +6.6% | +7.2% | SEPW (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | +7.6% | +8.2% | SEPW (slight) | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 3.3% | 4.0% | DDFS | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 2.0% | 2.4% | DDFS | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −2.0% | −2.8% | DDFS | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 20.9% | 26.7% | 100.0% | SEPW | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 22.5% | 32.3% | 100.0% | DDFS | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.24 | 0.31 | 1.00 | DDFS lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.77 | 0.84 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 0.82 | 0.80 | DDFS (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | 1.37 | 1.32 | DDFS (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | 0.111 | 0.104 | 0.104 | DDFS (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 3.26 | 2.56 | 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 | 0.0% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.12 | 0.00 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −2.8% to +3.2% | −3.1% to +3.1% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −0.84 | −0.86 | Tie | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 9.1% | 8.4% | 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 | SEPW | DDFS | SEPW |
| 3 months | +1.1% | +1.0% | +1.5 pts | +1.4 pts |
| 6 months | +2.9% | +3.4% | −1.6 pts | −1.0 pts |
| 1 year | +7.5% | +8.1% | −6.1 pts | −5.4 pts |
| 3 years | – | +37.7% | – | −38.7 pts |
| Since launchNot the same days: DDFS Sep 2025 · SEPW Sep 2023 | +9.3% | +35.9% | −10.5 pts | −34.1 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. SEPW 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
DDFS resets first, on Aug 31, 2027, 300 days from now; SEPW runs to Aug 31, 2027, 300 days. DDFS can still gain 9.4% before its cap, SEPW 10.9%. A fall from here reaches DDFS’s buffer after 1.0% and SEPW’s after 1.4%. 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.
SEPW
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 10.9% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 1.4% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. Protection left, in index points: 20.0% of the 20.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level.
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 SEPW, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/ddfs-vs-sepw
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). DDFS against SEPW. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/ddfs-vs-sepw
[DDFS against SEPW (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/ddfs-vs-sepw)
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