Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
FMAR vs XBAP: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Nov 4, 2026 FMAR can fall 11.3% before its buffer engages and XBAP 10.0%, and FMAR resets 12 days sooner.
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Net assets: $1.2bn on Nov 3, 2026 for FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - March, and $129m on Nov 4, 2026 for Innovator U.S. Equity Accelerated 9 Buffer ETF - Apr.
FMAR: reference +18.2% since period start, fund +11.8%; buffer 0 to −10; cap +17.2%; At its cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
FMAR: reference +18.2% since period start, fund +11.8%; buffer 0 to −10; cap +17.2%; At its cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.XBAP: reference +17.9% since period start, fund +10.5%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +15.0%; At its cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
XBAP: reference +17.9% since period start, fund +10.5%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +15.0%; At its cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
XBAP costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.1 points; FMAR is 9.4 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | FMAR | XBAP |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +16.0% | +13.9% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 15.4% | 15.2% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.85% | 0.79% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $1.2bn | $128m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
Risk and return
Apr 9, 2021 to Oct 30, 2026 · 290 weekly returns · each against SPYFrom Apr 2021 to Oct 2026, FMAR returned more: +74.0% to +66.6%. XBAP swung slightly less: 9.0% to 9.6%. FMAR fell slightly less at its worst: −13.5% to −14.4%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | FMAR | XBAP | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +74.0% | +66.6% | FMAR | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +10.4% | +9.6% | FMAR (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | +74.0% | +66.6% | FMAR | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 9.6% | 9.0% | XBAP (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 6.3% | 6.0% | XBAP (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −13.5% | −14.4% | FMAR (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 46.0% | 39.6% | 100.0% | FMAR | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 59.2% | 52.8% | 100.0% | XBAP | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.59 | 0.53 | 1.00 | XBAP lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.91 | 0.85 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 0.71 | 0.67 | FMAR (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | 1.08 | 1.00 | FMAR (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | 0.117 | 0.114 | 0.099 | FMAR (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 0.78 | 0.67 | FMAR | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. | |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | SPY | SPY | SPY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +1.0% a year | +0.8% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.87 | 0.53 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −1.3% to +3.4% | −2.1% to +3.7% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −0.43 | −0.48 | FMAR (slight) | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 7.0% | 8.2% | 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, 290 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Window by window
| Total return | Gap to the reference's price return | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | FMAR | XBAP | FMAR | XBAP |
| 3 months | +1.7% | +1.7% | +2.1 pts | +2.1 pts |
| 6 months | +4.7% | +4.8% | +0.2 pts | +0.3 pts |
| 1 year | +16.0% | +13.9% | +2.4 pts | +0.3 pts |
| 3 years | +51.0% | +47.5% | −25.4 pts | −28.9 pts |
| Since launchNot the same days: FMAR Mar 2021 · XBAP Apr 2021 | +81.3% | +69.5% | −14.1 pts | −21.9 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 Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
These are two different products. XBAP is a floor fund, which caps how far a holder can fall. FMAR is a buffer fund, which absorbs the first part of a fall and leaves everything below it with the holder.
Both are already at their cap, so neither gains from more rise in the index before the period ends.
Where each one stands today
FMAR resets first, on Mar 19, 2027, 135 days from now; XBAP runs to Mar 31, 2027, 147 days. FMAR can still gain 4.0% before its cap, XBAP 3.6%. A fall from here reaches FMAR’s buffer after 11.3% and XBAP’s after 10.0%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.
Client brief:
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FMAR
SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +17.2% for the period on Nov 4, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's own price can still drift up to about 4.0% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 11.3% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 15.4% 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. 135 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Mar 19, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
XBAP
SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +15.0% for the period on Nov 4, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's own price can still drift up to about 3.6% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 10.0% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 15.2% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 9.0% of the 9.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 147 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Mar 31, 2027 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.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, FMAR against XBAP, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/fmar-vs-xbap
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). FMAR against XBAP. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/fmar-vs-xbap
[FMAR against XBAP (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/fmar-vs-xbap)
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