Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - February
$54.16−0.21 (−0.39%)
- Expense ratio
- 0.79%
- Fund size
- $260M
- 1Y return
- +15.2%
- Yield · Last 12 months
- —
- Holdings
- 6
- Volume · 30D
- 0M sh
- NAV per share
- $53.90
- 52W range
The ETF.net BFEB Grade
Score 52 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 40Category rankMission
How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.Not scoredRisk
How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.CScore 54Category rankTradability
How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.BScore 68Category rankHoldings
What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.Not scoredDurability
Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.AScore 78Category rank
Our read on BFEB
CThe February slot in Innovator's buffer lineup: FLEX options on SPY that absorb the first 9% of a decline over an approximately annual outcome period, in exchange for a ceiling on the upside that resets every February.
The Fund seeks to track SPY's return up to a predetermined cap while protecting against the first 9% of losses during an approximately annual outcome period. It uses FLEX Options and may invest directly in the underlying ETF or its components.
Why people hold it
- Absorbs the first 9% of SPY's losses (before fees) over an approximately annual outcome period, using FLEX options inside an ordinary 1940 Act fund rather than a bank note.innovatoretfs.com
- The 0.79% expense ratio sits right at the median for shallow-buffer SPY funds. You pay the going rate for the structure, not a premium for the calendar month.
- Terms reset on their own each February 1, so there is no options roll to manage and no maturity date to diarize.innovatoretfs.com
- One of a monthly family running the same SPY buffer recipe (BJAN, BMAY, BJUL and others), so the start date isn't locked to a single point on the calendar.
Worth knowing
- The cap is what pays for the buffer. Upside stops at a level set each February, and anything SPY earns above it is left on the table.
- Headline terms apply to holders across a full outcome period. Buy mid-period and you inherit whatever buffer and cap are left, not the stated 9%.innovatoretfs.com
- Trades thinly next to the largest buffer funds, which tends to mean wider bid-ask spreads on the way in and out.
BFEB Holdings
- Stocks
- 6
- 103%
- SPY 01/29/2027 6.93 C
Sectors
BFEB Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
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.
| Period | BFEB |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +11.7% |
| 1 month | +1.1% |
| 3 months | +3.5% |
| 1 year | +15.2% |
| 3 years | +17.5% |
| 5 years | +11.9% |
| 10 years | — |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | BFEB |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +11.7% | |
| 2025 | +13.0% | |
| 2024 | +17.6% | |
| 2023 | +22.4% | |
| 2022 | −6.8% | |
| 2021 | +18.0% | |
| 2020 | +10.2% |
BFEB in the news
ETF.net Research hasn’t filed on BFEB yet — coverage lands here as it’s written.
BFEB Dividends
No distributions in the last 12 months.
BFEB Risk
- 8.8%
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.
- 1.21
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.
- −14.8%
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.
- 0.65
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
BFEB Cost
- 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.