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BSTP

GradeDNew York Stock Exchange Arca

Innovator Buffer Step-Up Strategy ETF

Buffered · Innovator · Inception 2022-03-08

$40.27−0.21 (−0.53%)

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

History starts Mar 8, 2022.
Intraday session: down, 44 prints from 40.48 to 40.27. Range 40.20 to 40.42. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$40.20$40.30$40.4010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.89%
Fund size
$59M
1Y return
+11.4%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
5
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$40.08
52W range
low $35.22high $40.52

The ETF.net BSTP Grade

D

26/ 100

Rank 7 of 7 in S&P 500 Buffer⁠

Confidence Low

Six-pillar profile for BSTP. Scores out of 100: Cost 9, Risk 35, Mission not scored, Tradability 41, Holdings not scored, Durability 62. Strongest: Durability (62). Weakest: Cost (9). Based on 4 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 26 of 100 sits in the D 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.
    FScore 9
    Category rank7/7 · bottom quartile

  • Mission

    How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.
    Not scored
    —

  • Risk

    How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.
    DScore 35
    Category rank6/7 · bottom quartile

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    CScore 41
    Category rank4/7 · mid-pack

  • 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.
    BScore 62
    Category rank3/7 · top 43%

Graded as of Sep 22, 2026 · Based on 4 of 6 pillars

Our read on BSTP

ETF.net Research

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.

Stated mandate

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

  1. 01No 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.
  2. 02The 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.
  3. 03One ticker, no calendar to babysit: the resetting happens inside the fund, which can also hold SPY or its underlying stocks directly alongside the options.
  4. 04Live since 2022, so the strategy has run through real market stress rather than a backtest.

Worth knowing

  1. 01The 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%.
  2. 02Thinly traded, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than in the largest buffer names.
  3. 03Flexibility 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

As of Sep 22, 2026, 10:01 PM
Asset class
Stocks
Holdings
5
Top-10 weight
104%
Largest holding
SPY 08/31/2027 7.72 C99.4%

Sectors

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001—SPY 08/31/2027 7.72 C99.38%1,558$119M1
002—SPY 08/31/2027 767.1 P4.58%1,558$5M1
003—US BANK MMDA - USBGFS 9 09/01/20370.09%104,289$104K161
004—Cash & Other0.01%16,375$16K674

Showing 1–4 of 4 holdings

BSTP Performance

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

BSTP$11,138
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. BSTP $11,138. 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 BSTP. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodBSTP
Year to date+9.0%
1 month+1.0%
3 months+3.2%
1 year+11.4%
3 years+15.1%per year
5 yearsFund is under 5 years old—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 BSTP
YearReturn barBSTP
2026 YTD+9.0%
2025+11.8%
2024+16.7%
2023+18.2%
2022−5.0%

Since listing, Mar 8, 2022

BSTP in the news

ETF.net Research hasn’t filed on BSTP yet — coverage lands here as it’s written.

BSTP Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

BSTP Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
8.4%
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.
1.02
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.
−16.7%
54 months · 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.

BSTP Cost

Expense ratio0.89%
  • The middle half of S&P 500 Buffer funds
  • Median 0.58%

Every other S&P 500 Buffer fund charges less.

BSTP costs $89.00 a year on $10,000. The median S&P 500 Buffer fund costs $58.00.