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BAUG

GradeCChicago Board Options Exchange

Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF

Buffered · Innovator · Inception 2019-08-01

$55.48−0.22 (−0.39%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 2:19 PM EDT

Intraday session: down, 59 prints from 55.70 to 55.48. Range 55.38 to 55.70. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$55.40$55.60$55.7010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.79%
Fund size
$270M
1Y return
+13.7%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
6
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$55.17
52W range
low $47.71high $55.81

The ETF.net BAUG Grade

C

50/ 100

Rank 35 of 77 in S&P 500 Buffer 9-12%⁠

Confidence High

Six-pillar profile for BAUG. Scores out of 100: Cost 40, Risk 61, Mission 100, Tradability 53, Holdings not scored, Durability 80. Strongest: Mission (100). Weakest: Cost (40). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 50 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 40
    Category rank37/77 · top 48%

  • Mission

    How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.
    AScore 100
    Category rank2/4 · top 50%

  • Risk

    How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.
    BScore 61
    Category rank20/73 · top 27%

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    CScore 53
    Category rank36/77 · top 47%

  • 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 80
    Category rank17/77 · top 22%

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

Our read on BAUG

ETF.net Research

CA year of S&P 500 exposure with the first 9% of losses absorbed, in exchange for an upside cap set fresh every August 1. This is the August-reset seat in Innovator's buffer lineup, built to be held the full twelve months.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks returns linked to its underlying ETF, subject to a predetermined upside cap, while protecting against the first 9% of underlying losses during the applicable outcome period.

Why people hold it

  1. 01Mechanically simple: the first 9% of the reference S&P 500 ETF's losses over the outcome period are absorbed, and upside runs to a cap reset each August 1.innovatoretfs.com
  2. 02No style drift. It delivers the defined-outcome structure on its stated reference fund and nothing else, which is exactly what the prospectus advertises.
  3. 03The 0.79% fee sits right at the median for annual buffer funds. You are not paying a premium for the August calendar slot.
  4. 04Live since 2019, so it has run through multiple complete 12-month outcome cycles rather than being an untested launch.

Worth knowing

  1. 01Thinly traded next to its peers, so spreads can widen. Order type and timing matter more here than in a mega-cap index fund.
  2. 02Buy mid-period and your own buffer and cap differ from the stated terms, which run August 1 to July 31 and are measured before the fund's fee.innovatoretfs.com
  3. 03Cheaper wrappers around the same idea exist: BUFB ladders buffers for 0.10%, and ZALT runs a quarterly reset at 0.69%.

BAUG Holdings

As of Sep 22, 2026, 10:01 PM
Asset class
Stocks
Holdings
6
Top-10 weight
104%
Largest holding
SPY 07/30/2027 7.49 C100.0%

Sectors

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001—SPY 07/30/2027 7.49 C99.99%3,582$273M1
002—SPY 07/30/2027 747.04 P3.69%3,582$10M1
003—US BANK MMDA - USBGFS 9 09/01/20370.27%734,670$735K161

Showing 1–3 of 3 holdings

BAUG Performance

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

BAUG$11,371
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. BAUG $11,371. 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 BAUG. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodBAUG
Year to date+11.2%
1 month+0.9%
3 months+4.2%
1 year+13.7%
3 years+18.8%per year
5 years+11.9%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 BAUG
YearReturn barBAUG
2026 YTD+11.2%
2025+14.8%
2024+21.1%
2023+20.1%
2022−10.3%
2021+12.1%
2020+12.2%

BAUG in the news

BAUG Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

BAUG Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
9.0%
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.
1.34
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.
−15.6%
Trough Oct 2022
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.
0.69
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.

BAUG Cost

Expense ratio0.79%
  • The middle half of S&P 500 Buffer 9-12% funds
  • Median 0.79%

33 of the 77 S&P 500 Buffer 9-12% funds charge less.

BAUG costs $79.00 a year on $10,000. The median S&P 500 Buffer 9-12% fund costs $79.00.