Which has more room to gain, FDEC or ZALT?

From their prices on Oct 1, 2026, FDEC can gain about 3.9% before its cap and ZALT about 3.6%, so FDEC has more room left this period.

Which resets first, FDEC or ZALT?

FDEC ends its outcome period on Dec 18, 2026 and ZALT on Dec 31, 2026. A new cap is set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, FDEC or ZALT?

FDEC charges 0.85% a year and ZALT charges 0.69%, so ZALT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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FDEC vs ZALT: which one stands where?

As of Oct 1, 2026 FDEC can fall 9.6% before its buffer engages and ZALT 0.0%, and FDEC resets 13 days sooner. FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - December and Innovator U.S. Equity 10 Buffer ETF - Quarterly.

9.6%

FDEC can fall this far before its buffer

0.0%

ZALT can fall this far before its buffer

3.9%

FDEC can still gain

3.6%

ZALT can still gain

FDECBetween buffer and cap

FDEC: reference +12.0% since period start, fund +9.6%; buffer 0 to −10; cap +14.8%; Between buffer and cap.

ZALTBetween buffer and cap

ZALT: reference 0.0% since period start, fund 0.0%; buffer 0 to −10; cap +3.6%; Between buffer and cap.

ETFIQ Downside Cover Score · FDEC scores higherIf the market falls into a bear market from here, how much does the buffer absorb?

FDEC 34.3

ZALT 34.3

0.2, the lowest in this set99.8, the highest

A percentile among the 293 buffer ETFs with a live outcome period. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All buffer ETFs ranked by it → How it is computed →

Where each one stands today

FDEC resets first, on Dec 18, 2026, 79 days from now; ZALT runs to Dec 31, 2026, 92 days. FDEC can still gain 3.9% before its cap, ZALT 3.6%. A fall from here reaches FDEC’s buffer after 9.6% and ZALT’s after 0.0%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.

Every figure is ETFIQ’s own, from the issuer’s published outcome-period terms. A buffer ETF holds FLEX options on its reference index rather than shares, so there is no holdings overlap between two of them to report.

Performance, window by window

	Total return		Gap to the reference
Window	FDEC	ZALT	FDEC	ZALT
3 months	+2.9%	+2.0%	+0.4 pts	−0.5 pts
6 months	+12.0%	+5.9%	−5.0 pts	−11.1 pts
1 year	+13.8%	+8.3%	−1.9 pts	−7.4 pts
3 years	+59.2%	not published	−25.8 pts	not published

FDEC and ZALT over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →

On the same fields

FDEC

FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - December · Absorbs the first 10% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 14.8%, over a period ending Dec 18, 2026

ZALT

Innovator U.S. Equity 10 Buffer ETF - Quarterly · Absorbs the first 10% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 3.6%, over a period ending Dec 31, 2026

Issuer First Trust Innovator

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 10% 10%

Outcome period Dec 22, 2025 to Dec 18, 2026 Sep 30, 2026 to Dec 31, 2026

Days left 79 92

Starting cap +14.8% +3.6%

Can still gain 3.9% 3.6%

Fall before buffer 9.6% 0.0%

Protection left, index points 10.0% of 10.0% 10.0% of 10.0%

Index return this period +12.0% 0.0%

Fund return this period +9.6% 0.0%

State today Open Open

Expense ratio 0.85% 0.69%

Net assets $1.3bn $795m

FDEC and ZALT on the same fields, as of Oct 1, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

FDEC in plain words

From its price on Oct 1, 2026, the fund can gain about 3.9% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 9.6% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 10.7% 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. 79 days remained on Oct 1, 2026. On Dec 18, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.

ZALT in plain words

From its price on Oct 1, 2026, the fund can gain about 3.6% more before it reaches its cap. 92 days remained on Oct 1, 2026. On Dec 31, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.

Questions people ask

Which has more room to gain, FDEC or ZALT?: From their prices on Oct 1, 2026, FDEC can gain about 3.9% before its cap and ZALT about 3.6%, so FDEC has more room left this period.
Which resets first, FDEC or ZALT?: FDEC ends its outcome period on Dec 18, 2026 and ZALT on Dec 31, 2026. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, FDEC or ZALT?: FDEC charges 0.85% a year and ZALT charges 0.69%, so ZALT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

FDEC vs XDEC FDEC vs BALT FDEC vs BJAN FDEC vs CPSD ZALT vs ZOCT ZALT vs AIOO ZALT vs APOC ZALT vs FLAO

State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust →FDEC on its own →ZALT on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

FDEC filings on SEC EDGAR ↗First Trust page for FDEC ↗ZALT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗Innovator page for ZALT ↗

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page

ETFIQ, FDEC against ZALT, data as of Oct 1, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/fdec-vs-zalt

Open data

Free to use with attribution. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology.