Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
DOCT vs GJAN: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Oct 28, 2026 GJAN can fall 8.2% before its buffer engages and DOCT 6.3%, and GJAN resets 273 days sooner.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $421m for FT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - October and $438m for FT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - January.
DOCT: reference +1.2% since period start, fund +0.5%; buffer −5 to −30; cap +14.2%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Oct 28, 2026.
DOCT: reference +1.2% since period start, fund +0.5%; buffer −5 to −30; cap +14.2%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Oct 28, 2026.GJAN: reference +11.7% since period start, fund +8.0%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +11.8%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Oct 28, 2026.
GJAN: reference +11.7% since period start, fund +8.0%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +11.8%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Oct 28, 2026.Pair scorecard
Both cost 0.85% a year; their one-year returns differ by 0.4 points.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | DOCT | GJAN |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +10.1% | +10.5% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 6.1% | 10.4% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.85% | 0.85% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $421m | $438m |
| 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
A percentile among the 292 buffer ETFs on stocks with a live outcome period. 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
Feb 3, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026 · 194 weekly returns · each against SPYGJAN returned slightly more: +49.9% to +47.0%. DOCT swung slightly less: 6.7% to 6.9%. DOCT fell slightly less at its worst: −9.0% to −9.3%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | DOCT | GJAN | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +47.0% | +49.9% | GJAN (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +10.9% | +11.5% | GJAN (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | +47.0% | +49.9% | GJAN (slight) | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 6.7% | 6.9% | DOCT (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 4.4% | 4.6% | DOCT (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −9.0% | −9.3% | DOCT (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 36.7% | 36.8% | 100.0% | Tie | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 48.4% | 46.7% | 100.0% | GJAN (slight) | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.45 | 0.46 | 1.00 | Tie | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.87 | 0.89 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 0.89 | 0.94 | GJAN (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | 1.34 | 1.41 | GJAN (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | 0.133 | 0.140 | 0.141 | GJAN (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 1.21 | 1.23 | Tie | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. | |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | SPY | SPY | SPY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −0.3% a year | 0.0% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.26 | −0.02 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −2.8% to +2.1% | −2.4% to +2.4% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −1.00 | −0.96 | GJAN (slight) | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 8.1% | 7.9% | 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, 194 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Window by window
| Total return | Gap to the reference's price return | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | DOCT | GJAN | DOCT | GJAN |
| 3 months | +4.3% | +3.9% | −1.5 pts | −2.0 pts |
| 6 months | +6.8% | +6.0% | −1.7 pts | −2.6 pts |
| 1 year | +10.1% | +10.5% | −2.3 pts | −1.9 pts |
| 3 years | +44.1% | +48.3% | −44.0 pts | −39.8 pts |
| Since launchNot the same days: DOCT Aug 2020 · GJAN Jan 2023 | +285.9% | +52.9% | +157.4 pts | −39.9 pts |
Each fund's gap is to its reference's price return, dividends left out: the basis the outcome period uses. Open this comparison in the app →
Side by side
As of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
They do not reset together. GJAN has 79 days of its period left and DOCT has 352, 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
GJAN resets first, on Jan 15, 2027, 79 days from now; DOCT runs to Oct 15, 2027, 352 days. DOCT can still gain 12.7% before its cap, GJAN 2.8%. A fall from here reaches DOCT’s buffer after 6.3% and GJAN’s after 8.2%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.
DOCT and GJAN are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- Protection and cap. DOCT: Absorbs losses from 5.0% to 30.0% on SPY and caps the gain at 14.2%, over a period ending Oct 15, 2027. GJAN: Absorbs the first 15% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 11.8%, over a period ending Jan 15, 2027. The starting caps are 2.4 points apart.
- Outcome period. DOCT runs Oct 19, 2026 to Oct 15, 2027 with 352 days left; GJAN runs Jan 20, 2026 to Jan 15, 2027 with 79 days left.
- What each follows (similar). Both follow SPY.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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DOCT
From its price on Oct 28, 2026, the fund can gain about 12.7% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 6.3% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 6.1% 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. 352 days remained on Oct 28, 2026. On Oct 15, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
GJAN
From its price on Oct 28, 2026, the fund can gain about 2.8% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 8.2% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 10.4% 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. 79 days remained on Oct 28, 2026. On Jan 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, DOCT against GJAN, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/doct-vs-gjan
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). DOCT against GJAN. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/doct-vs-gjan
[DOCT against GJAN (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/doct-vs-gjan)
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