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BUFB

GradeBChicago Board Options Exchange

Innovator Laddered Allocation Buffer ETF

Buffered · Innovator · Inception 2022-02-09

$40.44−0.17 (−0.41%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 3:08 PM EDT

History starts Feb 9, 2022.
Intraday session: down, 60 prints from 40.60 to 40.44. Range 40.37 to 40.55. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$40.35$40.40$40.50$40.5510 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.10%
Fund size
$341M
1Y return
+13.9%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
13
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$40.17
52W range
low $35.10high $40.96

The ETF.net BUFB Grade

B

63/ 100

Rank 5 of 18 in S&P 500 Laddered Buffer⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for BUFB. Scores out of 100: Cost 82, Risk 30, Mission not scored, Tradability 52, Holdings 73, Durability 68. Strongest: Cost (82). Weakest: Risk (30). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 63 of 100 sits in the B 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.
    AScore 82
    Category rank2/18 · top 11%

  • 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 30
    Category rank14/18 · bottom quartile

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    CScore 52
    Category rank8/18 · top 44%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    AScore 73
    Category rank3/17 · top 18%

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    BScore 68
    Category rank7/18 · top 39%

Graded as of Sep 22, 2026 · Based on 5 of 6 pillars

Our read on BUFB

ETF.net Research

BMost buffer ETFs make you pick a start month and live with it. BUFB holds 12 Innovator buffer funds, one resetting each month, so a ladder stands in for the timing bet. Fund-level fee: 0.10%.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks exposure to the investment results of the MerQube US Large Cap Equity Buffer Laddered Index through a laddered portfolio of 12 Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETFs. The underlying ETFs seek capped S&P 500 exposure and a 9% loss buffer; BUFB itself does not provide that buffer.

Why people hold it

  1. 01Twelve underlying buffer funds, one resetting each month, so no single start date defines the outcome. Buy on any day and you own a blend of periods.innovatoretfs.com
  2. 020.10% expense ratio at the fund level, a small fraction of what buffer-cohort peers like ZALT and SIXZ charge.
  3. 03Each underlying fund aims to absorb the first 9% of U.S. large-cap losses over its outcome period, with upside capped in exchange.innovatoretfs.com
  4. 04Rates among the strongest implementations in its buffer peer group, and it has run through live markets since 2022.

Worth knowing

  1. 01Caps are the price of the buffer. Each underlying fund limits gains over its outcome period, so sharp rallies get clipped.
  2. 02The 9% buffer belongs to each underlying fund's own period, not to your purchase date. At any moment you hold buffers at different stages of use.
  3. 03Volume is light next to the category's headline names, so bid-ask spreads can run wider. It also hasn't been a distribution payer.

BUFB Holdings

As of Sep 22, 2026, 10:01 PM
Asset class
Stocks
Holdings
13
Top-10 weight
84%
Largest holding
BNOV8.5%

Sectors

  • Technology38.5%
  • Financials12.1%
  • Communication9.6%
  • Consumer Discr.9.3%
  • Health Care9.3%
  • Industrials7.8%
  • Cons. Staples4.5%
  • Energy3.4%
  • Utilities2.0%
  • Real Estate1.8%
  • Materials1.7%

Geography

  • United States100.00%
The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001BNOVInnovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - November8.47%586,011$29M1
002BOCTInnovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - October8.47%525,826$29M1
003BDECInnovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF -December8.45%525,403$29M1
004BAUGInnovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - August8.40%516,922$29M1
005BFEBInnovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - February8.40%529,013$29M1
006BJANInnovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - January8.39%472,068$29M1
007BSEPInnovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - September8.36%525,137$29M1
008BMARInnovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - March8.34%480,712$29M1
009BJULInnovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - July8.28%507,920$28M1
010BAPRInnovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF April8.24%515,400$28M1
011BMAYInnovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - May8.11%568,952$28M1
012BJUNInnovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - June8.01%547,666$27M1
013—US BANK MMDA - USBGFS 9 09/01/20370.08%277,020$277K161

Showing 1–13 of 13 holdings

BUFB Performance

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

BUFB$11,392
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. BUFB $11,392. 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 BUFB. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodBUFB
Year to date+10.8%
1 month+1.1%
3 months+3.7%
1 year+13.9%
3 years+16.6%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 BUFB
YearReturn barBUFB
2026 YTD+10.8%
2025+13.4%
2024+16.4%
2023+20.5%
2022−8.4%

Since listing, Feb 9, 2022

BUFB in the news

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

BUFB Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

BUFB Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
8.3%
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.
1.19
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.
−14.9%
55 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.
0.68
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.

BUFB Cost

Expense ratio0.10%
  • The middle half of S&P 500 Laddered Buffer funds
  • Median 0.20%

No S&P 500 Laddered Buffer fund charges less.

BUFB costs $10.00 a year on $10,000. The median S&P 500 Laddered Buffer fund costs $20.00.