Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
FDEC vs JAJL: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Nov 4, 2026 FDEC can fall 10.4% before its buffer engages and JAJL 1.9%, and FDEC resets 13 days sooner.
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Net assets: $1.3bn on Nov 3, 2026 for FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - December, and $305m on Nov 4, 2026 for Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - 6 Mo Jan/Jul.
FDEC: reference +12.7% since period start, fund +10.6%; buffer 0 to −10; cap +14.8%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
FDEC: reference +12.7% since period start, fund +10.6%; buffer 0 to −10; cap +14.8%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.JAJL: reference +2.6% since period start, fund +1.7%; buffer Floor; cap +4.1%; Full floor. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
JAJL costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 7.8 points; FDEC is 4.3 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | FDEC | JAJL |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +13.5% | +5.7% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 11.2% | 2.6% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.85% | 0.79% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $1.3bn | $304m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
Risk and return
Jul 12, 2024 to Oct 30, 2026 · 120 weekly returns · each against SPYFrom Jul 2024 to Oct 2026, FDEC returned more: +30.0% to +15.3%. JAJL swung less: 2.6% to 8.9%. JAJL fell less at its worst: −2.0% to −11.6%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | FDEC | JAJL | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +30.0% | +15.3% | FDEC | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +12.0% | +6.4% | FDEC | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | +30.0% | +15.3% | FDEC | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 8.9% | 2.6% | JAJL | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 6.0% | 1.5% | JAJL | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −11.6% | −2.0% | JAJL | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 47.5% | 13.7% | 100.0% | FDEC | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 57.9% | 13.4% | 100.0% | JAJL | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.57 | 0.14 | 1.00 | JAJL lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.91 | 0.69 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 0.86 | 0.79 | FDEC (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | 1.27 | 1.39 | JAJL (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | 0.135 | 0.143 | 0.111 | JAJL (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 1.03 | 3.19 | JAJL | 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 | +0.5% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.77 | 0.47 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −2.1% to +4.8% | −1.5% to +2.4% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −0.50 | −0.70 | FDEC | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 7.0% | 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, 120 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Window by window
| Total return | Gap to the reference's price return | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | FDEC | JAJL | FDEC | JAJL |
| 3 months | +1.5% | +0.8% | +1.9 pts | +1.2 pts |
| 6 months | +5.1% | +2.6% | +0.6 pts | −1.9 pts |
| 1 year | +13.5% | +5.7% | −0.1 pts | −7.9 pts |
| 3 years | +58.0% | – | −18.4 pts | – |
| Since launchNot the same days: FDEC Dec 2020 · JAJL Jul 2024 | +86.5% | +16.5% | −21.9 pts | −24.1 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. JAJL is a floor fund, which caps how far a holder can fall. FDEC 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
FDEC resets first, on Dec 18, 2026, 44 days from now; JAJL runs to Dec 31, 2026, 57 days. FDEC can still gain 3.0% before its cap, JAJL 2.1%. A fall from here reaches FDEC’s buffer after 10.4% and JAJL’s after 1.9%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.
Client brief:
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FDEC
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 3.0% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 10.4% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 11.2% 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. 44 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Dec 18, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.
JAJL
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 1.9% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 2.6% 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. 57 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Dec 31, 2026 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.
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ETFIQ, FDEC against JAJL, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/fdec-vs-jajl
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). FDEC against JAJL. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/fdec-vs-jajl
[FDEC against JAJL (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/fdec-vs-jajl)
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