Innovator Buffer Step-Up Strategy ETF
$40.70+0.02 (+0.06%)
- 0.89%
- $60M
- +13.5%
- 0M sh
- $40.68
- low $35.22high $40.73
The ETF.net BSTP Grade
D
Score 32 out of 100
- 7 of 7
Score 32 of 100 falls in the D band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.F9 out of 100Rank 7 of 7Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.D37 out of 100Rank 6 of 7Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.B66 out of 100Rank 2 of 7Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.B63 out of 100Rank 3 of 7
Our read on BSTP
DMost buffer ETFs freeze your cap and buffer for a full year. BSTP is the active version: FLEX options on SPY that the manager can reset monthly, so the terms follow the market rather than a calendar.
BSTP seeks risk-managed exposure to SPY through FLEX options and may invest directly in SPY or its components. It actively monitors and may reset the options portfolio monthly, seeking participation in SPY returns with an upside limit and protection against a measure of downside loss.
Why people hold it
- No 12-month lock. The manager monitors the options book and can reset it monthly, seeking SPY participation with a limit on the upside and protection against a measure of downside loss.
- The step-up design lets the options be re-struck as SPY moves, instead of leaving the fund anchored to a reference level set at the start of a long outcome period.
- One ticker, no calendar to babysit: the resetting happens inside the fund, which can also hold SPY or its underlying stocks directly alongside the options.
- Live since 2022, so the strategy has run through real market stress rather than a backtest.
Worth knowing
- The 0.89% expense ratio sits at the pricier end of SPY buffer funds. Innovator's dated series on the same reference, such as PMAY, lists 0.79%.
- Thinly traded, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than in the largest buffer names.
- Flexibility cuts both ways: with terms able to change at each reset, the cap and buffer in force aren't readable off a calendar and need checking against the fund's posted terms.
BSTP Holdings
- Stocks
- 3
- 104%
- Spy 08/31/2027 7.72 C
Sectors
- Technology40.1%
- Financials11.3%
- Communication9.9%
- Health Care9.4%
- Consumer Discretionary8.7%
- Industrials7.6%
- Consumer Staples4.4%
- Energy3.4%
- Utilities1.9%
- Real Estate1.7%
- Materials1.6%
BSTP Performance
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.Not enough history yet.
BSTP$11,352
Returns run to the Oct 12, 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 | BSTP |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +9.5% |
| 1 month | +1.4% |
| 3 months | +2.7% |
| 1 year | +13.5% |
| 3 years | +15.0% |
| 5 years | — |
| 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 | BSTP |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +9.5% | |
| 2025 | +11.8% | |
| 2024 | +16.7% | |
| 2023 | +18.2% | |
| 2022 | −5.0% |
BSTP in the news
BSTP Dividends
No distributions in the last 12 months.
BSTP Risk
- 7.9%
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.
- 1.25
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.
- −16.7%
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.
- 0.69
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
BSTP Cost
0.89%
BSTP0.89%
- The middle half of S&P 500 Buffer funds
- Median 0.58%
Every other S&P 500 Buffer fund charges less.
Other funds in S&P 500 Buffer
- BSWANAmplify BlackSwan Growth & Treasury Core ETFExpense ratio 0.49%1 year return +4.9%
- CQBSVAIM ETF Products Trust - AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer5 ETFExpense ratio 0.64%1 year return —
- CFBProShares S&P 500 Dynamic Buffer ETFExpense ratio 0.58%1 year return +14.5%
- CHJUNCorgi ETF Trust I - Corgi U.S. Equities 100% Structured Buffer ETF - June SeriesExpense ratio 0.30%1 year return —
- DDHSBDay Hagan Smart Buffer ETFExpense ratio 0.68%1 year return +9.1%