Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
EALT vs QBSF: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Nov 4, 2026 EALT can fall 5.6% before its buffer engages and QBSF 0.8%.
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Net assets: $189m on Nov 4, 2026 for Innovator U.S. Equity 5 to 15 Buffer ETF - Quarterly, and $68m on Nov 3, 2026 for AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 ETF - Jan.
EALT: reference +0.5% since period start, fund +0.5%; buffer −5 to −15; cap +7.0%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
EALT: reference +0.5% since period start, fund +0.5%; buffer −5 to −15; cap +7.0%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.QBSF: reference +0.5% since period start, fund +0.6%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +2.9%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
QBSF: reference +0.5% since period start, fund +0.6%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +2.9%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
QBSF costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.9 points; EALT is 2.8 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | EALT | QBSF |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +5.0% | +6.9% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 5.5% | 0.5% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.69% | 0.64% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $187m | $68m |
| 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
Jul 11, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026 · 68 weekly returns · each against SPYFrom Jul 2025 to Oct 2026, EALT returned slightly more: +10.3% to +9.5%. QBSF swung less: 2.5% to 6.8%. QBSF fell less at its worst: −1.1% to −6.0%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | EALT | QBSF | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +10.3% | +9.5% | EALT (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +7.8% | +7.2% | EALT (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | +10.3% | +9.5% | EALT (slight) | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 6.8% | 2.5% | QBSF | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 4.4% | 1.5% | QBSF | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −6.0% | −1.1% | QBSF | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 46.0% | 18.5% | 100.0% | EALT | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 66.1% | 16.1% | 100.0% | QBSF | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.51 | 0.18 | 1.00 | QBSF lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.75 | 0.69 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 0.57 | 1.26 | QBSF | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | 0.88 | 2.11 | QBSF | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | 0.076 | 0.175 | 0.125 | QBSF | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 1.31 | 6.54 | QBSF | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. | |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | SPY | SPY | SPY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −2.5% a year | +0.9% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.83 | 0.72 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −8.6% to +3.5% | −1.6% to +3.3% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −1.31 | −0.98 | QBSF | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 6.6% | 9.6% | 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, 68 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Window by window
| Total return | Gap to the reference's price return | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | EALT | QBSF | EALT | QBSF |
| 3 months | 0.0% | +1.2% | +0.4 pts | +1.6 pts |
| 6 months | +3.9% | +3.2% | −0.6 pts | −1.3 pts |
| 1 year | +5.0% | +6.9% | −8.6 pts | −6.6 pts |
| 3 years | +40.9% | – | −35.5 pts | – |
| Since launchNot the same days: EALT Oct 2023 · QBSF Jul 2025 | +43.3% | +10.1% | −36.1 pts | −14.0 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.
Where each one stands today
EALT resets first, on Dec 31, 2026, 57 days from now; QBSF runs to Dec 31, 2026, 57 days. EALT can still gain 6.4% before its cap, QBSF 2.1%. A fall from here reaches EALT’s buffer after 5.6% and QBSF’s after 0.8%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.
Client brief:
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EALT
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 6.4% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 5.6% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 5.5% 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. 57 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Dec 31, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.
QBSF
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 2.1% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 0.8% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 0.5% 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.
Questions people ask
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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, EALT against QBSF, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/ealt-vs-qbsf
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). EALT against QBSF. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/ealt-vs-qbsf
[EALT against QBSF (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/ealt-vs-qbsf)
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