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Launched · SEC filings

Innovator Laddered Allocation Power Buffer ETF

BUFFCboeInnovatorB

$53.67−0.16 (−0.30%)

At close: Nov 2, 2026, 4:00 PM ET

B58/ 100

Rank 5 of 18 in S&P 500 Laddered Buffer

B58/100Rank 5 of 18inS&P 500 Laddered Buffer
Intraday session: down, 79 prints from 53.83 to 53.67. Range 53.65 to 54.12. Use the arrow keys to read each point.53.9054.0054.1010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.89%
Fund size
$1.11B
1Y total return
+9.2%
Yield · Last 12 months
0.00%
Holdings
13
Avg volume · 30D
101K sh
52W range
low $48.41high $54.47
Launched
Filings
SEC EDGAR

The ETF.net BUFF Grade

Based on 5 of 6 pillars

B

Score 58 out of 100

Category
S&P 500 Laddered Buffer⁠
Rank
5 of 18
Six-pillar profile for BUFF. Scores out of 100: Cost 47, Risk 63, Mission not scored, Tradability 62, Holdings 71, Durability 77. Strongest: Durability (77). Weakest: Cost (47). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.

Score 58 of 100 falls in the B 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.
    C47 out of 100
    Rank 9 of 18

  • Mission

    Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.
    Not scored

  • Risk

    How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.
    B63 out of 100
    Rank 5 of 18

  • Tradability

    How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.
    B62 out of 100
    Rank 4 of 18

  • Holdings

    How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.
    A71 out of 100
    Rank 3 of 18

  • Durability

    Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.
    A77 out of 100
    Rank 3 of 18

Our read on BUFF

ETF.net Research

In short

BBuffer ETFs usually make you pick a start month. BUFF skips the choice: equal slices of 12 Innovator Power Buffer ETFs, one resetting every month, each buffering the first 15% of a 12-month SPY drop in exchange for a capped upside.

Stated mandate

The fund seeks exposure to the FTSE Laddered Power Buffer Strategy Index, which equally allocates among 12 U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETFs. Those underlying ETFs seek U.S. equity upside subject to caps while buffering the first 15% of losses.

Why people hold it

  • One ticket, twelve vintages. Each underlying Power Buffer ETF resets in a different month, so your entry date matters less than with a single-vintage buffer fund.innovatoretfs.com
  • Each sleeve seeks SPY's return up to a cap while absorbing the first 15% of an SPY decline over that sleeve's outcome period, before fees and expenses.innovatoretfs.com
  • Built to sit still: the index rebalances semi-annually and Innovator states the fund can be held indefinitely, with no outcome period for you to roll.innovatoretfs.com
  • Listed in 2016, running this laddered strategy since its August 2020 conversion, and now a billion-dollar-plus fund sitting in the upper half of its peer group.innovatoretfs.com

Worth knowing

  • At 0.89% it sits near the category median, but some laddered rivals run cheaper: ALDB at 0.30%, PBFR at 0.50% (and PBFR tracks the same declared index).
  • Caps cut both ways. Laddering smooths the caps across twelve vintages, and in a roaring market the capped sleeves leave upside on the table.innovatoretfs.com
  • Not an income vehicle: it has not been paying regular distributions, so returns have to come from price.

BUFF Holdings

Holdings pillarA71 out of 100Rank 3 of 18 in S&P 500 Laddered Buffer
Asset class
Stocks
Holdings
13
Top-10 weight
83%
Largest holding
PAPR8.4%

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%

Geography

  • United States99.53%
  • Switzerland0.26%
  • China0.10%
  • Mexico0.05%
  • Ireland0.03%
  • United Kingdom0.03%
The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueHeld by ETFs
1PAPRInnovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - April8.37%2,151,869$93.1M1
2PJANInnovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - January8.33%1,826,633$92.7M1
3PSEPInnovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - September8.33%1,982,416$92.7M1
4PFEBInnovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - February8.33%2,103,418$92.7M1
5PMAYInnovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - May8.32%2,196,364$92.6M1
6POCTInnovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - October8.32%1,937,680$92.6M1
7PMARInnovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - March8.32%1,894,978$92.6M1
8PAUGInnovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - August8.32%1,987,976$92.6M1
9PDECInnovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - December8.31%1,964,484$92.5M1
10PNOVInnovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - November8.30%2,024,952$92.4M1
11PJUNInnovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - June8.30%2,107,790$92.4M1
12PJULInnovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - July8.30%1,864,889$92.4M1
13No dataUs Bank Mmda - Usbgfs 9 09/01/20370.14%1,561,339$1.56M163

Showing 1–13 of 13 holdings

BUFF Performance

Launched Oct 20, 2016

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

BUFF$10,915
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,146
Oct 31, 2025 to Nov 2, 2026. BUFF $10,915. SPY $11,146. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$10,000$11,000Oct 2025May 2026Nov 2026

Oct 31, 2025 – Nov 2, 2026

Returns run to the Nov 2, 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 BUFF. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodBUFF
Year to date+7.6%
1 month−0.8%
3 months+1.3%
1 year+9.2%
3 yearsper year+12.5%
5 yearsper year+8.6%
10 yearsper year+8.9%

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 BUFF
YearReturn barBUFF
2026 YTD+7.6%
2025+11.0%
2024+12.1%
2023+16.5%
2022−4.4%
2021+8.4%
2020−10.2%

BUFF in the news

BUFF 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 Nov 2, 2026.
0.00%Last 12 months
Payout per share
NoneLast 12 months

No distributions in the last 12 months.

Distribution history

Payments through 2020

One bar per payment. 16 payments from 2016 to 2020. Dec 22, 2016 $0.05; Mar 24, 2017 $0.09; Jun 26, 2017 $0.14; Sep 25, 2017 $0.14; Dec 22, 2017 $0.13; Mar 27, 2018 $0.07; Jun 26, 2018 $0.14; Sep 25, 2018 $0.13; Dec 21, 2018 $0.18; Mar 28, 2019 $0.16; Jun 27, 2019 $0.18; Sep 27, 2019 $0.18; Dec 30, 2019 $0.13; Mar 30, 2020 $0.34; Jun 29, 2020 $0.19; Jul 15, 2020 $0.07. Use the arrow keys to read each point.20162017201820192020
Ex-datePay dateAmount per share
Jul 15, 2020Jul 17, 2020$0.07
Jun 29, 2020Jul 1, 2020$0.19
Mar 30, 2020Apr 1, 2020$0.34
Dec 30, 2019Jan 2, 2020$0.13
Sep 27, 2019Sep 30, 2019$0.18
Jun 27, 2019Jul 1, 2019$0.18
Mar 28, 2019Apr 1, 2019$0.16
Dec 21, 2018Dec 31, 2018$0.18
Sep 25, 2018Sep 28, 2018$0.13
Jun 26, 2018Jun 29, 2018$0.14
Mar 27, 2018Mar 29, 2018$0.07
Dec 22, 2017Dec 29, 2017$0.13

See all 16 payments⁠

$10,000 in BUFF 10 years ago paid $963 in dividends.⁠

BUFF Risk

Risk pillarB63 out of 100Rank 5 of 18 in S&P 500 Laddered Buffer
How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
5.8%
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.
1.45
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.
−10.2%
Trough Apr 2025
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.
0.47
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.

BUFF Cost

Compare BUFF and ALDB

Overpaying vs ALDB, cheapest in S&P 500 Laddered Buffer

$10,723

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

  • BUFF 0.89%

    $16,872

  • ALDB 0.30% Cheapest

    $6,149

$10,000
30 years

Cost over time

  • BUFF 0.89%
  • ALDB 0.30%
  • Overpaying
One line per fund, from year 0 to year 30. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$5K$10K$15K$20K051015202530BUFF $16,872ALDB $6,149

Year by year

YearBUFFALDBOverpaying
10$1,576$545$1,031
20$5,953$2,113$3,840
30$16,872$6,149$10,723

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