Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
GAUG vs SEPW: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Nov 4, 2026 GAUG can fall 1.6% before its buffer engages and SEPW 1.4%, 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 $211m for AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer20 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.SEPW: reference 0.0% since period start, fund +0.6%; buffer 0 to −20; cap +12.3%; Buffer working. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
SEPW: reference 0.0% since period start, fund +0.6%; buffer 0 to −20; cap +12.3%; Buffer working. Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
SEPW costs 0.11 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.2 points; GAUG is 2.0 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | GAUG | SEPW |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +9.3% | +8.1% |
| 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 | $211m |
| 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 8, 2023 to Oct 30, 2026 · 164 weekly returns · each against SPYFrom Sep 2023 to Oct 2026, GAUG returned slightly more: +39.3% to +35.7%. SEPW swung less: 5.8% to 6.9%. SEPW fell less at its worst: −7.5% to −8.8%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | GAUG | SEPW | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +39.3% | +35.7% | GAUG (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +11.1% | +10.2% | GAUG (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | +39.3% | +35.7% | GAUG (slight) | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 6.9% | 5.8% | SEPW | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 4.5% | 3.9% | SEPW | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −8.8% | −7.5% | SEPW | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 35.9% | 31.1% | 100.0% | GAUG | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 46.8% | 40.8% | 100.0% | SEPW | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.46 | 0.39 | 1.00 | SEPW lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.89 | 0.90 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 0.91 | 0.92 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | 1.38 | 1.39 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | 0.136 | 0.137 | 0.146 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 1.25 | 1.36 | SEPW (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. | |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | SPY | SPY | SPY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −0.4% a year | −0.3% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.33 | −0.32 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −3.0% to +2.1% | −2.4% to +1.7% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −1.04 | −1.04 | Tie | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 8.0% | 8.8% | 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, 164 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Window by window
| Total return | Gap to the reference's price return | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | GAUG | SEPW | GAUG | SEPW |
| 3 months | +1.1% | +1.0% | +1.4 pts | +1.4 pts |
| 6 months | +3.8% | +3.4% | −0.7 pts | −1.0 pts |
| 1 year | +9.3% | +8.1% | −4.2 pts | −5.4 pts |
| 3 years | +41.8% | +37.7% | −34.6 pts | −38.7 pts |
| Since launchNot the same days: GAUG Aug 2023 · SEPW Sep 2023 | +42.0% | +35.9% | −32.5 pts | −34.1 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.
Where each one stands today
GAUG resets first, on Aug 20, 2027, 289 days from now; SEPW runs to Aug 31, 2027, 300 days. GAUG can still gain 12.1% before its cap, SEPW 10.9%. A fall from here reaches GAUG’s buffer after 1.6% and SEPW’s after 1.4%. 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.
SEPW
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 10.9% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 1.4% 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. Protection left, in index points: 20.0% of the 20.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 300 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Aug 31, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is 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 SEPW, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/gaug-vs-sepw
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). GAUG against SEPW. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/gaug-vs-sepw
[GAUG against SEPW (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/gaug-vs-sepw)
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