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BALT

GradeBChicago Board Options Exchange

Innovator Defined Wealth Shield ETF

Buffered · Innovator · Inception 2021-07-01

$34.91−0.08 (−0.23%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 3:10 PM EDT

Intraday session: down, 67 prints from 34.99 to 34.91. Range 34.84 to 34.96. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$34.85$34.88$34.92$34.9510 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.69%
Fund size
$3.0B
1Y return
+6.7%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
6
Volume · 30D
0.5M sh
NAV per share
$34.95
52W range
low $32.69high $35.09

The ETF.net BALT Grade

B

67/ 100

Rank 1 of 24 in S&P 500 Buffer 20%⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for BALT. Scores out of 100: Cost 65, Risk 74, Mission not scored, Tradability 61, Holdings not scored, Durability 83. Strongest: Durability (83). Weakest: Tradability (61). Based on 4 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 67 of 100 sits in the B 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.
    BScore 65
    Category rank9/24 · top 38%

  • 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.
    AScore 74
    Category rank1/22 · top 5%

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    BScore 61
    Category rank7/24 · top 29%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    Not scored
    —

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    AScore 83
    Category rank1/24 · top 4%

Graded as of Sep 22, 2026 · Based on 4 of 6 pillars

Our read on BALT

ETF.net Research

BMost buffer ETFs hand you a cushion once a year. BALT rebuilds a 20% one every three months: four fresh starts against S&P 500 drawdowns. The trade-off is that the cap resets with it, and it starts low.

Stated mandate

The fund seeks to track the return of SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), subject to a cap, while buffering investors against losses. It targets a 20% buffer during each three-month outcome period and resets quarterly.

Why people hold it

  1. 01Deep and short-dated: it targets a 20% buffer against losses in the S&P 500 ETF it references, over a three-month outcome period, then resets for the next quarter.innovatoretfs.com
  2. 020.69% a year, under the typical fee in its deep-buffer group, and it has been running the quarterly reset since launching in 2021.
  3. 03One of the larger funds doing 20% buffers on the S&P 500, and one of the strongest implementations in that peer group.

Worth knowing

  1. 01A deep buffer over a short window buys a low ceiling. The cap is set fresh each three-month period, and it is far tighter than what annual buffer funds start with.
  2. 02The 20% cushion is measured from the start of each outcome period. Buy mid-quarter and the buffer and cap you actually own differ from the headline terms.innovatoretfs.com
  3. 03Cheaper 20% buffer options exist: PBFR at 0.50%, Pacer's Swan SOS Flex funds (PSFJ, PSFM) at 0.49%.

BALT Holdings

As of Sep 22, 2026, 10:01 PM
Asset class
Stocks
Holdings
6
Top-10 weight
101%
Largest holding
SPY 09/30/2026 1.87 C101.3%

Sectors

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001—SPY 09/30/2026 1.87 C101.25%39,030$3.0B1
002—US BANK MMDA - USBGFS 9 09/01/20370.13%3,734,692$4M161
003—SPY 09/30/2026 746.77 P0.08%39,030$2M1

Showing 1–3 of 3 holdings

BALT Performance

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

BALT$10,674
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. BALT $10,674. 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 BALT. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodBALT
Year to date+4.4%
1 month+0.8%
3 months+2.2%
1 year+6.7%
3 years+7.9%per year
5 years+6.3%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 BALT
YearReturn barBALT
2026 YTD+4.4%
2025+6.7%
2024+10.0%
2023+7.5%
2022+2.5%
2021+0.8%

Since listing, Jul 1, 2021

BALT in the news

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

BALT Dividends

This fund pays no distributions.
—Last 12 months
Payout per share
—Last 12 months

No distributions in the last 12 months.

BALT Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
2.7%
Annualised · 36 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.
0.95
vs 3-month T-bills · 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.
−4.9%
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.
0.18
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.

BALT Cost

Expense ratio0.69%
  • The middle half of S&P 500 Buffer 20% funds
  • Median 0.74%

8 of the 24 S&P 500 Buffer 20% funds charge less.

BALT costs $69.00 a year on $10,000. The median S&P 500 Buffer 20% fund costs $74.00.