Skip to content
etf.net

Launched

Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF

BSEPCboeInnovatorB

$53.52−0.18 (−0.34%)

As of Nov 2, 2026, 3:59 PM ET

B54/ 100

Rank 30 of 77 in S&P 500 Buffer 9-12%

B54/100Rank 30 of 77inS&P 500 Buffer 9-12%
Intraday session: down, 78 prints from 53.70 to 53.52. Range 53.52 to 54.13. Use the arrow keys to read each point.53.6053.8053.9054.0054.1010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.79%
Fund size
$459M
1Y total return
+10.2%
Yield · Last 12 months
0.00%
Holdings
503
Avg volume · 30D
56.1K sh
52W range
low $46.94high $54.99
Launched

The ETF.net BSEP Grade

B

Score 54 out of 100

Category
S&P 500 Buffer 9-12%⁠
Rank
30 of 77
Six-pillar profile for BSEP. Scores out of 100: Cost 40, Risk 40, Mission 97, Tradability 66, Holdings 90, Durability 76. Strongest: Mission (97). Weakest: Risk (40). Leans toward Mission.

Score 54 of 100 falls in the C band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25. The letter stays B for now. A new letter must hold for 3 published runs before it replaces it.

  • Cost

    The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.
    C40 out of 100
    Rank 34 of 77

  • Mission

    Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.
    A97 out of 100
    Rank 3 of 9

  • Risk

    How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.
    C40 out of 100
    Rank 59 of 77

  • Tradability

    How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.
    B66 out of 100
    Rank 21 of 77

  • Holdings

    How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.
    A90 out of 100
    Rank 3 of 45

  • Durability

    Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.
    A76 out of 100
    Rank 20 of 77

Our read on BSEP

ETF.net Research

In short

BInnovator'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

  • Absorbs 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.
  • The 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.
  • The 0.79% fee lands right at the median for buffer funds, so the defined-outcome wrapper isn't costing a premium versus the pack.
  • Running since 2019, with years of completed reset cycles behind it across both rising and falling markets.

Worth knowing

  • Cheaper buffered exposure exists. Innovator's own laddered BUFB charges 0.10% and spreads money across staggered outcome periods instead of one annual window.
  • Trading is thin next to the category's larger funds, so spreads can widen. Limit orders are the usual defense.
  • No 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 Performance

Launched Sep 3, 2019

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

Not enough history yet.
BSEP$11,019
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,199
Oct 31, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026. BSEP $11,019. SPY $11,199. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$10,000$11,000Oct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

Returns run to the Oct 30, 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+9.0%
1 month−0.5%
3 months+0.7%
1 year+10.2%
3 yearsper year+17.5%
5 yearsper year+10.4%
10 yearsFund is under 10 years oldper yearNo data

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+9.0%
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 Oct 30, 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

Risk pillarC40 out of 100Rank 59 of 77 in S&P 500 Buffer 9-12%
How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
8.1%
Annualised · 36 months to Oct 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.
1.50
vs 3-month T-bills · to Oct 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.
0.65
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.

FMP measures it over up to five years of monthly returns.

BSEP Cost

Compare BSEP and XTR

Overpaying vs XTR, cheapest in S&P 500 Buffer 9-12%

$10,015

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

  • BSEP 0.79%

    $15,174

  • XTR 0.25% Cheapest

    $5,159

$10,000
30 years

Cost over time

  • BSEP 0.79%
  • XTR 0.25%
  • Overpaying
One line per fund, from year 0 to year 30. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$5K$10K$15K$20K051015202530BSEP $15,174XTR $5,159

Year by year

YearBSEPXTROverpaying
10$1,405$455$950
20$5,331$1,769$3,562
30$15,174$5,159$10,015

Other funds in S&P 500 Buffer 9-12%

See others