Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
DHDG vs DOCT: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Nov 4, 2026 DOCT can fall 6.2% before its buffer engages and DHDG 3.1%, and DHDG resets 273 days sooner.
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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $81m for FT Vest U.S. Equity Quarterly 2.5 to 15 Buffer ETF and $421m for FT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - October.
DHDG: reference +0.5% since period start, fund +0.4%; buffer −2 to −15; cap +4.5%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
DHDG: reference +0.5% since period start, fund +0.4%; buffer −2 to −15; cap +4.5%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.DOCT: reference +0.5% since period start, fund +0.3%; buffer −5 to −30; cap +14.2%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
DOCT: reference +0.5% since period start, fund +0.3%; buffer −5 to −30; cap +14.2%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
Both cost 0.85% a year; their one-year returns differ by 2.5 points; DOCT is 5.2 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | DHDG | DOCT |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +13.1% | +10.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 2.9% | 5.4% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.85% | 0.85% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $81m | $421m |
| 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 1, 2024 to Oct 30, 2026 · 104 weekly returns · each against SPYFrom Nov 2024 to Oct 2026, DHDG returned slightly more: +25.0% to +24.3%. DHDG swung slightly less: 6.9% to 7.4%. DHDG fell less at its worst: −7.0% to −9.0%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | DHDG | DOCT | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +25.0% | +24.3% | DHDG (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +11.8% | +11.5% | DHDG (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | +25.0% | +24.3% | DHDG (slight) | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 6.9% | 7.4% | DHDG (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 4.1% | 4.7% | DHDG | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −7.0% | −9.0% | DHDG | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 37.0% | 40.5% | 100.0% | DOCT (slight) | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 44.3% | 50.6% | 100.0% | DHDG | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.41 | 0.48 | 1.00 | DHDG lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.81 | 0.95 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 1.07 | 0.97 | DHDG (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | 1.78 | 1.51 | DHDG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | 0.178 | 0.149 | 0.123 | DHDG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 1.68 | 1.28 | DHDG | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. | |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | SPY | SPY | SPY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +2.3% a year | +1.3% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 1.07 | 1.08 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −1.9% to +6.5% | −1.1% to +3.6% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −0.53 | −0.64 | DHDG | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 9.3% | 8.0% | 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, 104 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Window by window
| Total return | Gap to the reference's price return | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | DHDG | DOCT | DHDG | DOCT |
| 3 months | +1.3% | +2.1% | +1.6 pts | +2.5 pts |
| 6 months | +5.6% | +5.2% | +1.1 pts | +0.7 pts |
| 1 year | +13.1% | +10.6% | −0.5 pts | −2.9 pts |
| 3 years | – | +39.2% | – | −37.2 pts |
| Since launchNot the same days: DHDG Oct 2024 · DOCT Aug 2020 | +24.9% | +284.8% | −6.5 pts | +157.9 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.
They do not reset together. DHDG has 72 days of its period left and DOCT has 345, so the two are not the same bet on the same months.
Both are First Trust funds, so the difference between them is the terms rather than the house.
Where each one stands today
DHDG resets first, on Jan 15, 2027, 72 days from now; DOCT runs to Oct 15, 2027, 345 days. DHDG can still gain 3.9% before its cap, DOCT 12.9%. A fall from here reaches DHDG’s buffer after 3.1% and DOCT’s after 6.2%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.
Client brief:
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DHDG
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 3.9% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 3.1% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 2.9% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 12.5% of the 12.5% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 72 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Jan 15, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
DOCT
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 12.9% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 6.2% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 5.4% 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. 345 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Oct 15, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
Questions people ask
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
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, DHDG against DOCT, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/dhdg-vs-doct
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). DHDG against DOCT. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/dhdg-vs-doct
[DHDG against DOCT (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/dhdg-vs-doct)
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