Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
DFEB vs ZMAR: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Nov 4, 2026 DFEB can fall 12.2% before its buffer engages and ZMAR 4.2%, and DFEB resets 9 days sooner.
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Net assets: $456m on Nov 3, 2026 for FT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - February, and $109m on Nov 4, 2026 for Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - 1 Yr March.
DFEB: reference +11.2% since period start, fund +7.2%; buffer −5 to −30; cap +11.9%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
DFEB: reference +11.2% since period start, fund +7.2%; buffer −5 to −30; cap +11.9%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.ZMAR: reference +11.7% since period start, fund +3.8%; buffer Floor; cap +6.7%; At its cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
ZMAR costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.0 points; DFEB is 4.2 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | DFEB | ZMAR |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +11.1% | +6.1% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 14.6% | 10.5% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.85% | 0.79% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $456m | $109m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
Risk and return
Mar 14, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026 · 85 weekly returns · each against SPYFrom Mar 2025 to Oct 2026, DFEB returned more: +22.4% to +11.6%. ZMAR swung less: 2.4% to 6.9%. ZMAR fell less at its worst: −1.4% to −5.0%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | DFEB | ZMAR | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +22.4% | +11.6% | DFEB | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +13.1% | +6.9% | DFEB | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | +22.4% | +11.6% | DFEB | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 6.9% | 2.4% | ZMAR | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 4.5% | 1.5% | ZMAR | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −5.0% | −1.4% | ZMAR | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 36.9% | 13.2% | 100.0% | DFEB | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 45.1% | 12.6% | 100.0% | ZMAR | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.45 | 0.15 | 1.00 | ZMAR lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.96 | 0.88 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 1.25 | 1.15 | DFEB (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | 1.93 | 1.83 | DFEB (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | 0.193 | 0.185 | 0.164 | DFEB (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 2.65 | 4.84 | ZMAR | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. | |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | SPY | SPY | SPY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +1.3% a year | +0.3% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 1.19 | 0.46 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −0.8% to +3.4% | −1.0% to +1.7% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −0.92 | −1.06 | DFEB | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 8.5% | 12.9% | 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, 85 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Window by window
| Total return | Gap to the reference's price return | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | DFEB | ZMAR | DFEB | ZMAR |
| 3 months | +1.4% | +1.2% | +1.8 pts | +1.6 pts |
| 6 months | +4.1% | +2.6% | −0.4 pts | −1.9 pts |
| 1 year | +11.1% | +6.1% | −2.4 pts | −7.5 pts |
| 3 years | +47.2% | – | −29.2 pts | – |
| Since launchNot the same days: DFEB Feb 2020 · ZMAR Mar 2025 | +71.4% | +11.0% | −66.4 pts | −20.3 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. ZMAR is a floor fund, which caps how far a holder can fall. DFEB is a buffer fund, which absorbs the first part of a fall and leaves everything below it with the holder.
ZMAR is already at its cap, so more rise in the index adds nothing to it before the period ends.
Where each one stands today
DFEB resets first, on Feb 19, 2027, 107 days from now; ZMAR runs to Feb 28, 2027, 116 days. DFEB can still gain 3.6% before its cap, ZMAR 2.3%. A fall from here reaches DFEB’s buffer after 12.2% and ZMAR’s after 4.2%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.
Client brief:
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DFEB
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 3.6% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 12.2% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 14.6% 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. 107 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Feb 19, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
ZMAR
SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +6.7% 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 2.3% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 4.2% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 10.5% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 100.0% of the 100.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 116 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Feb 28, 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.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, DFEB against ZMAR, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/dfeb-vs-zmar
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). DFEB against ZMAR. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/dfeb-vs-zmar
[DFEB against ZMAR (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/dfeb-vs-zmar)
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