Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
GAUG vs SEPU: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Nov 4, 2026 GAUG can fall 1.6% before its buffer engages and SEPU 0.6%, and GAUG resets 11 days sooner.
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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $414m for FT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - August and $164m for AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 Uncapped ETF - Sep.
GAUG: reference +0.1% since period start, fund +0.7%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +13.8%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
GAUG: reference +0.1% since period start, fund +0.7%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +13.8%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.SEPU: reference 0.0% since period start, fund −0.2%; buffer 0 to −15; no cap; Buffer working. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
SEPU costs 0.11 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.6 points; GAUG is 2.5 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | GAUG | SEPU |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +9.3% | +9.9% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.85% | 0.74% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $414m | $164m |
| 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
Sep 13, 2024 to Oct 30, 2026 · 111 weekly returns · each against SPYFrom Sep 2024 to Oct 2026, SEPU returned more: +25.4% to +22.1%. GAUG swung less: 7.2% to 10.3%. GAUG fell less at its worst: −8.8% to −10.4%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | GAUG | SEPU | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +22.1% | +25.4% | SEPU | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +9.8% | +11.2% | SEPU | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | +22.1% | +25.4% | SEPU | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 7.2% | 10.3% | GAUG | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 4.8% | 6.7% | GAUG | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −8.8% | −10.4% | GAUG | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 36.3% | 65.6% | 100.0% | SEPU | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 48.0% | 82.0% | 100.0% | GAUG | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.47 | 0.68 | 1.00 | GAUG lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.92 | 0.93 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 0.77 | 0.69 | GAUG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | 1.15 | 1.05 | GAUG (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | 0.117 | 0.104 | 0.121 | GAUG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 1.11 | 1.07 | GAUG (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. | |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | SPY | SPY | SPY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −0.2% a year | −1.1% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.13 | −0.60 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −2.9% to +2.6% | −4.8% to +2.6% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −0.82 | −0.92 | GAUG | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 8.0% | 5.4% | 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, 111 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Window by window
| Total return | Gap to the reference's price return | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | GAUG | SEPU | GAUG | SEPU |
| 3 months | +1.1% | −0.9% | +1.4 pts | −0.6 pts |
| 6 months | +3.8% | +3.3% | −0.7 pts | −1.2 pts |
| 1 year | +9.3% | +9.9% | −4.2 pts | −3.7 pts |
| 3 years | +41.8% | – | −34.6 pts | – |
| Since launchNot the same days: GAUG Aug 2023 · SEPU Sep 2024 | +42.0% | +28.5% | −32.5 pts | −10.4 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
GAUG resets first, on Aug 20, 2027, 289 days from now; SEPU runs to Aug 31, 2027, 300 days. A fall from here reaches GAUG’s buffer after 1.6% and SEPU’s after 0.6%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.
Client brief:
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GAUG
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 12.1% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 1.6% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 0.1% 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. 289 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Aug 20, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
SEPU
This fund has no cap. It takes a share of any further rise in SPY. The fund's price can fall 0.6% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 0.0% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. 300 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Aug 31, 2027 the period ends and new terms are set.
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, GAUG against SEPU, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/gaug-vs-sepu
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). GAUG against SEPU. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/gaug-vs-sepu
[GAUG against SEPU (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/gaug-vs-sepu)
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