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BSEP

GradeCChicago Board Options Exchange

Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF

Buffered · Innovator · Inception 2019-09-03

$54.28−0.29 (−0.53%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 2:55 PM EDT

Intraday session: down, 54 prints from 54.57 to 54.28. Range 54.21 to 54.48. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$54.20$54.40$54.5010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.79%
Fund size
$409M
1Y return
+13.0%
Yield · Last 12 months
0.00%
Volume · 30D
0.1M sh
NAV per share
$53.95
52W range
low $46.94high $54.67

The ETF.net BSEP Grade

C

54/ 100

Rank 26 of 77 in S&P 500 Buffer 9-12%⁠

Confidence High

Six-pillar profile for BSEP. Scores out of 100: Cost 40, Risk 47, Mission 97, Tradability 59, Holdings 90, Durability 78. Strongest: Mission (97). Weakest: Cost (40). Leans toward Mission.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 54 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 rank47/77 · mid-pack

  • Mission

    How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.
    AScore 97
    Category rank3/4 · bottom quartile

  • Risk

    How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.
    CScore 47
    Category rank48/73 · mid-pack

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    BScore 59
    Category rank28/77 · top 36%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    AScore 90
    Category rank4/42 · top 10%

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    AScore 78
    Category rank20/77 · top 26%

Graded as of Sep 22, 2026

Our read on BSEP

ETF.net Research

CInnovator's September-reset buffer fund: it tracks SPY, absorbs the first 9% of a decline, and trades that cushion for a cap reset every fall. Downside padding with a ceiling, on a schedule you can mark on a calendar.

Stated mandate

The fund seeks to track the return of SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, subject to a predetermined cap, while protecting investors against the first 9% of losses during the outcome period. It resets approximately annually.

Why people hold it

  1. 01Absorbs the first 9% of an SPY decline over each roughly one-year outcome period, a cushion written into the fund's documents rather than left to a manager's call.
  2. 02The terms are mechanical and public: SPY as the reference, a 9% buffer, a cap set at each September reset, the period running through the end of August.
  3. 03The 0.79% fee lands right at the median for buffer funds, so the defined-outcome wrapper isn't costing a premium versus the pack.
  4. 04Running since 2019, with years of completed reset cycles behind it across both rising and falling markets.

Worth knowing

  1. 01Cheaper buffered exposure exists. Innovator's own laddered BUFB charges 0.10% and spreads money across staggered outcome periods instead of one annual window.
  2. 02Trading is thin next to the category's larger funds, so spreads can widen. Limit orders are the usual defense.
  3. 03No distributions: the payoff is built around price movement inside the cap and buffer. Buying mid-period also means a different cap and remaining cushion than a fresh start.

BSEP Holdings

As of Sep 22, 2026, 10:01 PM
Asset class
Stocks
Holdings
—
Top-10 weight
41%
Largest holding
NVDA8.1%

Sectors

  • Technology39.6%
  • Financials11.8%
  • Communication9.8%
  • Health Care9.2%
  • Consumer Discr.8.8%
  • Industrials7.5%
  • Cons. Staples4.4%
  • Energy3.5%
  • Utilities2.0%
  • Materials1.8%
  • Real Estate1.7%

Geography

  • United States97.64%
  • Ireland1.19%
  • United Kingdom0.37%
  • Switzerland0.29%
  • Singapore0.29%
  • Netherlands0.11%
  • Bermuda0.07%
  • Canada0.02%
The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 34.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001NVDANVIDIA Corp8.14%147,136$33M828
002AAPLApple Inc7.32%88,733$30M707
003MSFTMicrosoft Corp5.51%45,147$23M792
004—SPY 08/31/2027 767.06 P4.51%5,360$19M1
005AMZNAmazon.com Inc3.75%59,678$15M720
006GOOGLAlphabet Inc3.08%35,677$13M704
007AVGOBroadcom Inc2.55%28,926$10M732
008GOOGAlphabet Inc2.47%28,899$10M471
009METAMeta Platforms Inc2.42%13,407$10M683
010MUMicron Technology Inc1.74%6,866$7M655
011TSLATesla Inc1.56%17,135$6M509
012AMDAdvanced Micro Devices Inc1.49%9,925$6M618
013JPMJPMORGAN CHASE & CO.1.45%16,898$6M478
014BRK-BBerkshire Hathaway Inc1.38%11,323$6M359
015LLYEli Lilly & Co1.38%4,864$6M569

Showing 1–15 of 504 holdings

BSEP Performance

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

BSEP$11,298
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. BSEP $11,298. 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 BSEP. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodBSEP
Year to date+10.7%
1 month+1.0%
3 months+3.7%
1 year+13.0%
3 years+17.3%per year
5 years+11.5%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 BSEP
YearReturn barBSEP
2026 YTD+10.7%
2025+14.8%
2024+17.0%
2023+20.9%
2022−9.2%
2021+14.6%
2020+12.4%

BSEP in the news

BSEP 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.
0.00%Last 12 months
Payout per share
NoneLast 12 months

No distributions in the last 12 months.

Distribution history

Payments through 2019

One bar per payment. 1 payment in 2019. Nov 19, 2019 $0.36. Use the arrow keys to read each point.2019
Ex-datePay dateAmount per share
Nov 19, 2019Nov 21, 2019$0.36

BSEP Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
8.6%
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.
1.23
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.
−15.0%
Trough Jun 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.
0.66
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.

BSEP 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.

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