Which is cheaper, ACEI or DACL?

ACEI charges 0.79% a year and DACL charges 0.65%, so DACL is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

ACEI vs DACL: which paid, and which earned it?

ACEI and DACL both write options for income. Innovator Equity Autocallable Income Strategy ETF and REX Defensive Autocallable Income ETF.

11.1%

ACEI cash paid, 1 year

0.6%

DACL cash paid, since launch

+5.9%

ACEI total return, 1 year

+0.5%

DACL total return, since launch

ACEI · 1 year to Sep 30, 20269.8 pts behind SPY

ACEI

+5.9%

SPY

+15.7%

9.8 pts behind SPY

ACEI over 1 year: paid 11.1%, price −5.7%, total +5.9%, SPY +15.7%, −9.8 pts.

SPY

+15.7%

ACEI

+5.9%

11.1% of it arrived as cash

9.8 pts behind SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

9.8 pts behind SPY

ACEI over 1 year: paid 11.1%, price −5.7%, total +5.9%, SPY +15.7%, −9.8 pts.

SPY

+15.7%

ACEI

+5.9%

9.8 pts behind SPY

11.1% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. ACEI over 1 year: paid 11.1%, price −5.7%, total +5.9%, SPY +15.7%, −9.8 pts.

DACL · since launch to Sep 30, 20262.2 pts ahead of SPY

DACL

+0.5%

SPY

−1.7%

2.2 pts ahead of SPY

DACL since launch: paid 0.6%, price −0.1%, total +0.5%, SPY −1.7%, +2.2 pts.

SPY

−1.7%

DACL

+0.5%

2.2 pts ahead of SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

2.2 pts ahead of SPY

DACL since launch: paid 0.6%, price −0.1%, total +0.5%, SPY −1.7%, +2.2 pts.

SPY

−1.7%

DACL

+0.5%

2.2 pts ahead of SPY

0.6% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +15.7%. DACL since launch: paid 0.6%, price −0.1%, total +0.5%, SPY −1.7%, +2.2 pts.

Performance, window by window

	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	ACEI	DACL	ACEI	DACL	ACEI	DACL
3 months	+5.4%	not published	3.3%	not published	+2.8 pts	not published
6 months	+5.6%	not published	6.5%	not published	−11.4 pts	not published
1 year	+5.9%	not published	11.1%	not published	−9.8 pts	not published
Since launch ACEI Sep 2025 · DACL Aug 2026	+6.0%	+0.5%	11.1%	0.6%	−11.2 pts	+2.2 pts

ACEI and DACL over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →

On the same fields

ACEI

Innovator Equity Autocallable Income Strategy ETF · Autocallable on SPY, paying monthly

DACL

REX Defensive Autocallable Income ETF · Autocallable on SPY

Issuer Innovator REX

Strategy autocallable autocallable

Benchmark S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy

Pays monthly not established

Payout rate, annualized 13.0% 6.6%

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.65%

Cash paid, 1 year 11.1% 0.6% (since launch on Aug 13, 2026)

Price change, 1 year −5.7% −0.1%

Total return, 1 year +5.9% +0.5% (since launch on Aug 13, 2026)

Benchmark return, 1 year +15.7% −1.7%

Ahead or behind −9.8 pts +2.2 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate not published not published

Age 370 days 48 days

Net assets $50m $4m

ACEI and DACL on the same fields, as of Sep 30, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

ACEI in plain words

Over the year to Sep 30, 2026, ACEI paid 11.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 5.7%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +5.9%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +15.7% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 9.8 pts. At its price on Sep 30, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 13.0%, paid monthly.

DACL in plain words

Over the period since launch on Aug 13, 2026 to Sep 30, 2026, DACL paid 0.6% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 0.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +0.5%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned −1.7% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 2.2 pts. At its price on Sep 30, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 6.6%, paid periodically.

Questions people ask

Which is cheaper, ACEI or DACL?: ACEI charges 0.79% a year and DACL charges 0.65%, so DACL is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

ACEI vs CAIQ ACEI vs IACL ACEI vs JANH ACEI vs JANJ DACL vs OCTH DACL vs OCTJ DACL vs PLA DACL vs SCA

S&P 500 (SPY) →ACEI on its own →DACL on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

ACEI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗ACEI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗Innovator page for ACEI ↗DACL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗DACL prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗REX page for DACL ↗

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page

ETFIQ, ACEI against DACL, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/acei-vs-dacl

Open data

Free to use with attribution. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology.