Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
PMAU vs XJUL: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Nov 4, 2026 XJUL can fall 3.6% before its buffer engages and PMAU 1.8%, and XJUL resets 15 days sooner.
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Net assets: $6.5m on Nov 4, 2026 for PGIM S&P 500 Max Buffer ETF - August, and $42m on Nov 3, 2026 for FT Vest U.S. Equity Enhance & Moderate Buffer ETF - July.
PMAU: reference +2.6% since period start, fund +1.3%; buffer Floor; cap +7.9%; Full floor. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
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.
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.Pair scorecard
PMAU costs 0.35 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.9 points; XJUL is 6.5 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | PMAU | XJUL |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +6.2% | +9.1% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 2.6% | 3.1% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.50% | 0.85% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $6.5m | $42m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
Risk and return
Aug 8, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026 · 64 weekly returns · each against SPYFrom Aug 2025 to Oct 2026, XJUL returned more: +10.6% to +7.6%. PMAU swung less: 2.1% to 3.5%. PMAU fell less at its worst: −1.5% to −2.4%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | PMAU | XJUL | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +7.6% | +10.6% | XJUL | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +6.2% | +8.6% | XJUL | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | +7.6% | +10.6% | XJUL | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 2.1% | 3.5% | PMAU | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 1.2% | 2.0% | PMAU | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −1.5% | −2.4% | PMAU | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 15.8% | 26.1% | 100.0% | XJUL | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 12.6% | 25.6% | 100.0% | PMAU | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.17 | 0.27 | 1.00 | PMAU lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.85 | 0.79 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 1.05 | 1.26 | XJUL | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | 1.84 | 2.27 | XJUL | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | 0.131 | 0.162 | 0.118 | XJUL | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 4.19 | 3.53 | PMAU | 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 | +1.2% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.29 | 0.82 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −1.2% to +1.7% | −1.8% to +4.2% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −1.00 | −0.87 | XJUL | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 9.6% | 8.5% | 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, 64 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Window by window
| Total return | Gap to the reference's price return | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | PMAU | XJUL | PMAU | XJUL |
| 3 months | +0.7% | +1.3% | +1.1 pts | +1.7 pts |
| 6 months | +2.8% | +4.3% | −1.7 pts | −0.2 pts |
| 1 year | +6.2% | +9.1% | −7.4 pts | −4.5 pts |
| 3 years | – | +37.3% | – | −39.1 pts |
| Since launchNot the same days: PMAU Aug 2025 · XJUL Jul 2023 | +8.3% | +36.2% | −15.0 pts | −32.7 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.
These are two different products. PMAU is a floor fund, which caps how far a holder can fall. XJUL 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; PMAU runs to Jul 31, 2027, 269 days. PMAU can still gain 6.0% before its cap, XJUL 7.5%. A fall from here reaches PMAU’s buffer after 1.8% 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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PMAU
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 6.0% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 1.8% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 2.6% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 100.0% of the 100.0% 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. Protection left, in index points: 15.0% of the 15.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 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, PMAU against XJUL, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/pmau-vs-xjul
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). PMAU against XJUL. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/pmau-vs-xjul
[PMAU against XJUL (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/pmau-vs-xjul)
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