Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
GAUG vs USEP: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Nov 4, 2026 USEP can fall 5.6% before its buffer engages and GAUG 1.6%, and GAUG resets 11 days sooner.
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Net assets: $414m on Nov 3, 2026 for FT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - August, and $245m on Nov 4, 2026 for Innovator U.S. Equity Ultra Buffer 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.USEP: reference −0.1% since period start, fund +0.5%; buffer −5 to −35; cap +14.7%; In the unprotected slice. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
USEP: reference −0.1% since period start, fund +0.5%; buffer −5 to −35; cap +14.7%; In the unprotected slice. Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
USEP costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.3 points; GAUG is 1.7 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | GAUG | USEP |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +9.3% | +9.0% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 0.1% | 4.9% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.85% | 0.79% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $414m | $243m |
| 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 1, 2023 to Oct 30, 2026 · 165 weekly returns · each against SPYFrom Sep 2023 to Oct 2026, USEP returned slightly more: +39.2% to +38.4%. GAUG and USEP swung about the same: 6.9% and 6.8%. GAUG and USEP fell about the same at their worst: −8.8% and −8.9%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | GAUG | USEP | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +38.4% | +39.2% | USEP (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +10.8% | +11.0% | Tie | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | +38.4% | +39.2% | USEP (slight) | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 6.9% | 6.8% | Tie | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 4.5% | 4.4% | USEP (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −8.8% | −8.9% | Tie | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 35.9% | 37.5% | 100.0% | USEP (slight) | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 47.0% | 49.2% | 100.0% | GAUG (slight) | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.46 | 0.46 | 1.00 | Tie | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.89 | 0.91 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 0.87 | 0.91 | USEP (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | 1.32 | 1.40 | USEP (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | 0.130 | 0.134 | 0.140 | USEP (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 1.22 | 1.23 | Tie | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. | |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | SPY | SPY | SPY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −0.5% a year | −0.3% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.36 | −0.24 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −3.0% to +2.1% | −2.5% to +2.0% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −1.01 | −0.99 | Tie | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 8.0% | 7.9% | 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, 165 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Window by window
| Total return | Gap to the reference's price return | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | GAUG | USEP | GAUG | USEP |
| 3 months | +1.1% | +1.0% | +1.4 pts | +1.4 pts |
| 6 months | +3.8% | +3.7% | −0.7 pts | −0.8 pts |
| 1 year | +9.3% | +9.0% | −4.2 pts | −4.6 pts |
| 3 years | +41.8% | +43.2% | −34.6 pts | −33.2 pts |
| Since launchNot the same days: GAUG Aug 2023 · USEP Sep 2019 | +42.0% | +72.9% | −32.5 pts | −90.9 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.
USEP has fallen through its protection. The index is 0.1% below where the buffer stops, and that part of the loss is the holder’s.
Where each one stands today
GAUG resets first, on Aug 20, 2027, 289 days from now; USEP runs to Aug 31, 2027, 300 days. GAUG can still gain 12.1% before its cap, USEP 14.0%. A fall from here reaches GAUG’s buffer after 1.6% and USEP’s after 5.6%. 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.
USEP
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 14.0% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 5.6% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 4.9% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 30.0% of the 30.0% 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
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
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 USEP, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/gaug-vs-usep
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). GAUG against USEP. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/gaug-vs-usep
[GAUG against USEP (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/gaug-vs-usep)
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