Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
SEPU vs USEP: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Nov 4, 2026 USEP can fall 5.6% before its buffer engages and SEPU 0.6%.
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Net assets: $164m on Nov 3, 2026 for AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 Uncapped ETF - Sep, and $245m on Nov 4, 2026 for Innovator U.S. Equity Ultra Buffer ETF - Sep.
SEPU: reference 0.0% since period start, fund −0.2%; buffer 0 to −15; no cap; Buffer working. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
SEPU: reference 0.0% since period start, fund −0.2%; buffer 0 to −15; no cap; Buffer working. 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
SEPU costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.9 points; USEP is 1.5 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | SEPU | USEP |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +9.9% | +9.0% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 0.0% | 4.9% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.74% | 0.79% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $164m | $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 13, 2024 to Oct 30, 2026 · 111 weekly returns · each against SPYFrom Sep 2024 to Oct 2026, SEPU returned more: +25.4% to +22.3%. USEP swung less: 7.1% to 10.3%. USEP fell less at its worst: −8.9% to −10.4%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SEPU | USEP | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +25.4% | +22.3% | SEPU | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +11.2% | +9.9% | SEPU | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | +25.4% | +22.3% | SEPU | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 10.3% | 7.1% | USEP | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 6.7% | 4.7% | USEP | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −10.4% | −8.9% | USEP | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 65.6% | 37.7% | 100.0% | SEPU | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 82.0% | 49.9% | 100.0% | USEP | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.68 | 0.47 | 1.00 | USEP lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.93 | 0.93 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 0.69 | 0.79 | USEP | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | 1.05 | 1.21 | USEP | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | 0.104 | 0.120 | 0.121 | USEP | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 1.07 | 1.11 | USEP (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. | |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | SPY | SPY | SPY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −1.1% a year | −0.1% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.60 | −0.05 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −4.8% to +2.6% | −2.7% to +2.5% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −0.92 | −0.81 | USEP | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 5.4% | 8.0% | 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, 111 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Window by window
| Total return | Gap to the reference's price return | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | SEPU | USEP | SEPU | USEP |
| 3 months | −0.9% | +1.0% | −0.6 pts | +1.4 pts |
| 6 months | +3.3% | +3.7% | −1.2 pts | −0.8 pts |
| 1 year | +9.9% | +9.0% | −3.7 pts | −4.6 pts |
| 3 years | – | +43.2% | – | −33.2 pts |
| Since launchNot the same days: SEPU Sep 2024 · USEP Sep 2019 | +28.5% | +72.9% | −10.4 pts | −90.9 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.
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
SEPU resets first, on Aug 31, 2027, 300 days from now; USEP runs to Aug 31, 2027, 300 days. A fall from here reaches SEPU’s buffer after 0.6% 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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SEPU
This fund has no cap. It takes a share of any further rise in SPY. The fund's price can fall 0.6% 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: 15.0% of the 15.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 300 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Aug 31, 2027 the period ends and new terms are 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. 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, SEPU against USEP, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/sepu-vs-usep
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). SEPU against USEP. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/sepu-vs-usep
[SEPU against USEP (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/sepu-vs-usep)
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