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DDFD

GradeCChicago Board Options Exchange

Innovator Equity Dual Directional 15 Buffer ETF - December

Dual Directional · Innovator · Inception 2025-12-01

$20.36−0.04 (−0.22%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 1:27 PM EDT

History starts Dec 1, 2025.History starts Dec 1, 2025.
Intraday session: down, 9 prints from 20.41 to 20.36. Range 20.35 to 20.41. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$20.38$20.4010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.79%
Fund size
$95M
1Y return
—
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
7
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$20.33
52W range
low $18.70high $20.41

The ETF.net DDFD Grade

C

51/ 100

Rank 7 of 19 in S&P 500 Dual Directional⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for DDFD. Scores out of 100: Cost 50, Risk 42, Mission not scored, Tradability 55, Holdings not scored, Durability 74. Strongest: Durability (74). Weakest: Risk (42). Based on 4 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 51 of 100 sits in the C 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.
    CScore 50
    Category rank2/19 · 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.
    CScore 42
    Category rank11/17 · mid-pack

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    BScore 55
    Category rank8/19 · top 42%

  • 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.
    AScore 74
    Category rank4/19 · top 21%

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

Our read on DDFD

ETF.net Research

CA buffer fund with a twist: if the S&P 500 ETF it references finishes modestly lower, DDFD is built to turn that decline into a gain, not just cushion it. The trade-off is a capped upside, reset every December.

Stated mandate

The Fund uses a defined outcome strategy based on SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust returns. It seeks positive returns in rising markets and in certain declining markets, while applying an upside cap, inverse-performance threshold, and buffer.

Why people hold it

  1. 01Down can mean up: inside the buffer zone, a decline in the reference S&P 500 ETF is designed to produce a positive return rather than a smaller loss.innovatoretfs.com
  2. 02A 15 percentage point buffer against reference losses across the one-year outcome period, spelled out in the fund's own terms.innovatoretfs.com
  3. 03This is the December-dated member of a monthly series, so its annual reset runs December to November instead of a January or June clock.
  4. 04Fee of 0.79%, the same as every other dual directional fund in the lineup (DDSQ, DDFN, DDFJ), so the calendar choice costs nothing extra.

Worth knowing

  1. 01The upside is capped and re-struck each December, so a big rally in the reference ETF leaves gains on the table.
  2. 02Buy mid-period and your own buffer and cap differ from the headline terms, since both are measured from the December start.innovatoretfs.com
  3. 03Built for outcome, not income: it is not structured as a distribution payer, and it changes hands far less often than the S&P 500 ETF it references.

DDFD Holdings

As of Sep 22, 2026, 10:01 PM
Asset class
Stocks
Holdings
7
Top-10 weight
107%
Largest holding
SPY 11/30/2026 6.89 C104.6%

Sectors

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001—SPY 11/30/2026 6.89 C104.63%1,301$100M1
002—SPY 11/30/2026 574.05 P1.59%19,515$2M1
003—SPY 11/30/2026 683.44 P0.76%2,602$722K1
004—US BANK MMDA - USBGFS 9 09/01/20370.39%375,659$376K161

Showing 1–4 of 4 holdings

DDFD Performance

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

DDFD$10,655
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,430
Dec 31, 2025 to Sep 22, 2026. DDFD $10,655. SPY $11,430. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$9,119$10,381$11,642Dec 2025May 2026Sep 2026

Dec 31, 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 DDFD. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodDDFD
Year to date+6.6%
1 month+0.8%
3 months+2.4%
1 yearFund is under 1 year old—
3 yearsFund is under 3 years old—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 DDFD
YearReturn barDDFD
2026 YTD+6.6%
2025+0.6%

Since listing, Dec 1, 2025

DDFD in the news

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

DDFD 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 Sep 22, 2026.
—Last 12 months
Payout per share
—Last 12 months

Listed Dec 2025. No distributions yet.

DDFD Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
—
Launched Dec 2025; fills in after 12 months
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.
—
Launched Dec 2025; fills in after 12 months
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.
—
Launched Dec 2025; fills in after 12 months
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.
0.32
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.

DDFD Cost

Expense ratio0.79%
  • The middle half of S&P 500 Dual Directional funds
  • Median 0.79%

No S&P 500 Dual Directional fund charges less.

DDFD costs $79.00 a year on $10,000. The median S&P 500 Dual Directional fund costs $79.00.