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DMAX

GradeCChicago Board Options Exchange

iShares Large Cap Max Buffer Dec ETF

Buffered · IShares · Inception 2024-12-30

$27.77−0.04 (−0.14%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 1:52 PM EDT

History starts Jan 2, 2025.
Intraday session: down, 8 prints from 27.81 to 27.77. Range 27.77 to 27.81. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$27.78$27.79$27.80$27.8110 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.53%
Fund size
$137M
1Y return
+6.7%
Yield · Last 12 months
Data unavailable
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$27.82
52W range
low $26.35high $27.83

The ETF.net DMAX Grade

C

53/ 100

Rank 6 of 20 in S&P 500 Max Buffer⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for DMAX. Scores out of 100: Cost 47, Risk 45, Mission not scored, Tradability 62, Holdings 45, Durability 92. Strongest: Durability (92). Weakest: Holdings (45). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 53 of 100 sits in the C band. Bands: A ≥ 70, B ≥ 55, C ≥ 40, D ≥ 25, F < 25; the scale skips E.

  • Cost

    What you pay to own it — the expense ratio plus trading frictions, ranked within its category.
    CScore 47
    Category rank11/20 · mid-pack

  • Mission

    How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.
    Not scored
    —

  • Risk

    How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.
    CScore 45
    Category rank11/20 · mid-pack

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    BScore 62
    Category rank8/20 · top 40%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    CScore 45
    Category rank4/4 · bottom quartile

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    AScore 92
    Category rank1/20 · top 5%

Graded as of Sep 22, 2026 · Based on 5 of 6 pillars

Our read on DMAX

ETF.net Research

CMost buffer ETFs swap a slice of your downside for a slice of your upside. DMAX takes it to the limit: it aims to absorb nearly the entire annual decline in the S&P 500, and accepts a very small cap as the price of that protection.

Stated mandate

The fund uses an options strategy tied to the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, seeking to provide substantial downside protection in exchange for capped upside during the annual hedge period.

Why people hold it

  1. 01The buffer is the whole story: it aims to absorb nearly all of a one-year decline in IVV, far deeper than the single-digit buffers common in this category.ishares.com
  2. 020.53% a year undercuts most of the buffer shelf, where BUFR charges 0.95% and BAPR 0.79%.
  3. 03The thing being hedged is plain vanilla: IVV, BlackRock's S&P 500 ETF. No bespoke index, no custom basket to decode.ishares.com
  4. 04Self-renewing by design: the December outcome period resets each year, so there is no rollover chore on your calendar.ishares.com

Worth knowing

  1. 01Deep protection buys a thin ceiling. The cap is set fresh each period and sits low by construction, so a roaring market largely goes on without you.ishares.com
  2. 02Terms apply across the full December-to-December period. Buy in the middle and you inherit whatever buffer and upside remain, not the stated headline numbers.ishares.com
  3. 03Thinly traded with a track record only since its December 2024 launch. Limit orders are the friendly move here.

DMAX Holdings

As of Sep 22, 2026, 5:09 AM
Asset class
Stocks
Holdings
—
Top-10 weight
107%
Largest holding
IVV105.2%

Geography

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001IVVISHARES CORE S&P ETF TRUST105.22%187,950$144M54
002—JAN27 IVV US P @ 684.940.86%1,908$1M2
003—BLK CSH FND TREASURY SL AGENCY0.79%1,081,957$1M440
004—USD CASH0.30%403,311$403K193
005—CASH COLLATERAL USD GSCFT0.12%164,000$164K8

Showing 1–5 of 5 holdings

DMAX Performance

Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.

DMAX$10,670
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,723
Sep 22, 2025 to Sep 22, 2026. DMAX $10,670. SPY $11,723. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$9,353$10,646$11,940Sep 2025Mar 2026Sep 2026

Sep 22, 2025 – Sep 22, 2026

Returns run to the Sep 22, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.

Trailing total return for DMAX. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodDMAX
Year to date+4.3%
1 month+0.7%
3 months+1.9%
1 year+6.7%
3 yearsFund is under 3 years old—per year
5 yearsFund is under 5 years old—per year
10 yearsFund is under 10 years old—per year

As of the close, with distributions reinvested.

Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.

Annual total returns for DMAX
YearReturn barDMAX
2026 YTD+4.3%
2025+7.8%

History from Jan 2, 2025

DMAX in the news

ETF.net Research hasn’t filed on DMAX yet — coverage lands here as it’s written.

DMAX Dividends

Adds up every distribution paid per share over the last 12 months, divided by the last completed close. Distributions are counted by ex-date. Data through Sep 22, 2026.
Data unavailableLast 12 months
Payout per share
Data unavailableLast 12 months
Last payment
$0.32 per share
Paid on
Shares bought on or after this date do not qualify for this distribution.
Frequency
Irregular

Distribution data unavailable.

Distribution history

2025–2026

One bar per payment. 1 payment from 2025 to 2026 YTD. Dec 23, 2025 $0.32. Use the arrow keys to read each point.20252026YTD
Ex-datePay dateAmount per share
Dec 23, 2025Dec 29, 2025$0.32

DMAX Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
2.6%
Annualised · 19 months to Aug 2026
How it’s calculated: standard deviation

The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.

Return above 3-month US Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
1.05
vs 3-month T-bills · 19 months to Aug 2026
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio

Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.

Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.

The largest fall from a peak to the low that followed.
−3.4%
20 months · trough Apr 2025
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown

The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.

Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.

How strongly the fund’s returns move with its asset-class index.
0.19
vs its asset-class index
How it’s calculated: beta

The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.

DMAX Cost

Expense ratio0.53%
  • The middle half of S&P 500 Max Buffer funds
  • Median 0.52%

10 of the 20 S&P 500 Max Buffer funds charge less.

DMAX costs $53.00 a year on $10,000. The median S&P 500 Max Buffer fund costs $51.50.