Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
PAUG vs XJUL: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Nov 4, 2026 XJUL can fall 3.6% before its buffer engages and PAUG 2.4%, and XJUL resets 15 days sooner.
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Net assets: $1.0bn on Nov 4, 2026 for Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - Aug, and $42m on Nov 3, 2026 for FT Vest U.S. Equity Enhance & Moderate Buffer ETF - July.
PAUG: reference +2.6% since period start, fund +2.2%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +13.8%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
PAUG: reference +2.6% since period start, fund +2.2%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +13.8%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.XJUL: reference +3.1% since period start, fund +2.9%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +11.4%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
PAUG costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.0 point; PAUG is far larger, $1.0bn against $42m.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | PAUG | XJUL |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +10.1% | +9.1% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 2.5% | 3.1% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.79% | 0.85% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $1.0bn | $42m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
Risk and return
Aug 4, 2023 to Oct 30, 2026 · 169 weekly returns · each against SPYFrom Aug 2023 to Oct 2026, PAUG returned more: +46.6% to +36.2%. XJUL swung less: 6.3% to 7.3%. XJUL fell less at its worst: −7.8% to −9.3%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | PAUG | XJUL | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +46.6% | +36.2% | PAUG | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +12.5% | +10.0% | PAUG | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | +46.6% | +36.2% | PAUG | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 7.3% | 6.3% | XJUL | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 4.8% | 4.2% | XJUL | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −9.3% | −7.8% | XJUL | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 40.9% | 30.0% | 100.0% | PAUG | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 50.0% | 38.3% | 100.0% | XJUL | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.50 | 0.41 | 1.00 | XJUL lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.93 | 0.84 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 1.03 | 0.83 | PAUG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | 1.57 | 1.22 | PAUG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | 0.151 | 0.127 | 0.139 | PAUG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 1.34 | 1.28 | PAUG (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. | |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | SPY | SPY | SPY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +0.6% a year | −0.5% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.55 | −0.34 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −1.5% to +2.8% | −3.2% to +2.3% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −0.87 | −1.00 | PAUG | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 7.3% | 8.7% | 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, 169 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Window by window
| Total return | Gap to the reference's price return | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | PAUG | XJUL | PAUG | XJUL |
| 3 months | +0.7% | +1.3% | +1.1 pts | +1.7 pts |
| 6 months | +4.5% | +4.3% | 0.0 pts | −0.2 pts |
| 1 year | +10.1% | +9.1% | −3.5 pts | −4.5 pts |
| 3 years | +49.7% | +37.3% | −26.7 pts | −39.1 pts |
| Since launchNot the same days: PAUG Aug 2019 · XJUL Jul 2023 | +90.1% | +36.2% | −69.9 pts | −32.7 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. XJUL is a floor fund, which caps how far a holder can fall. PAUG is a buffer fund, which absorbs the first part of a fall and leaves everything below it with the holder.
Where each one stands today
XJUL resets first, on Jul 16, 2027, 254 days from now; PAUG runs to Jul 31, 2027, 269 days. PAUG can still gain 11.1% before its cap, XJUL 7.5%. A fall from here reaches PAUG’s buffer after 2.4% and XJUL’s after 3.6%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.
Client brief:
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PAUG
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 11.1% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 2.4% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 2.5% 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. 269 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Jul 31, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
XJUL
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 7.5% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 3.6% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 3.1% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. 254 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Jul 16, 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
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, PAUG against XJUL, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/paug-vs-xjul
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). PAUG against XJUL. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/paug-vs-xjul
[PAUG against XJUL (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/paug-vs-xjul)
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