Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
GSEP vs OCTW: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Nov 4, 2026 GSEP can fall 1.7% before its buffer engages and OCTW 1.4%, and GSEP resets 13 days sooner.
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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $366m for FT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - September and $443m for AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer20 ETF - Oct.
GSEP: reference +0.7% since period start, fund +0.8%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +14.1%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
GSEP: reference +0.7% since period start, fund +0.8%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +14.1%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.OCTW: reference +0.5% since period start, fund +0.7%; buffer 0 to −20; cap +12.8%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
OCTW: reference +0.5% since period start, fund +0.7%; buffer 0 to −20; cap +12.8%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
OCTW costs 0.11 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.1 points; OCTW is 1.2 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | GSEP | OCTW |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +10.9% | +9.8% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 0.6% | 0.5% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.85% | 0.74% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $366m | $443m |
| 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 29, 2023 to Oct 30, 2026 · 161 weekly returns · each against SPYFrom Sep 2023 to Oct 2026, GSEP returned more: +42.1% to +35.1%. OCTW swung less: 5.5% to 6.6%. OCTW fell less at its worst: −7.4% to −8.8%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | GSEP | OCTW | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +42.1% | +35.1% | GSEP | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +12.0% | +10.2% | GSEP | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | +42.1% | +35.1% | GSEP | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 6.6% | 5.5% | OCTW | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 4.3% | 3.5% | OCTW | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −8.8% | −7.4% | OCTW | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 35.5% | 27.8% | 100.0% | GSEP | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 45.5% | 35.9% | 100.0% | OCTW | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.44 | 0.36 | 1.00 | OCTW lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.88 | 0.87 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 1.08 | 0.99 | GSEP (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | 1.66 | 1.52 | GSEP (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | 0.162 | 0.151 | 0.161 | GSEP (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 1.37 | 1.39 | Tie | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. | |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | SPY | SPY | SPY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | 0.0% a year | −0.4% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.04 | −0.33 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −2.5% to +2.6% | −2.7% to +1.9% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −1.09 | −1.15 | GSEP (slight) | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 8.3% | 9.3% | 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, 161 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Window by window
| Total return | Gap to the reference's price return | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | GSEP | OCTW | GSEP | OCTW |
| 3 months | +1.9% | +1.9% | +2.3 pts | +2.3 pts |
| 6 months | +4.9% | +4.6% | +0.4 pts | +0.1 pts |
| 1 year | +10.9% | +9.8% | −2.7 pts | −3.7 pts |
| 3 years | +41.6% | +34.4% | −34.8 pts | −42.0 pts |
| Since launchNot the same days: GSEP Sep 2023 · OCTW Oct 2020 | +40.3% | +69.2% | −32.6 pts | −58.3 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
GSEP resets first, on Sep 17, 2027, 317 days from now; OCTW runs to Sep 30, 2027, 330 days. GSEP can still gain 12.3% before its cap, OCTW 11.3%. A fall from here reaches GSEP’s buffer after 1.7% and OCTW’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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GSEP
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 12.3% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 1.7% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 0.6% 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. 317 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Sep 17, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
OCTW
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 11.3% 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 0.5% 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. 330 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Sep 30, 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, GSEP against OCTW, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/gsep-vs-octw
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). GSEP against OCTW. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/gsep-vs-octw
[GSEP against OCTW (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/gsep-vs-octw)
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