Innovator Equity Dual Directional 15 Buffer ETF - November
$20.51+0.00 (−0.15%)
- Expense ratio
- 0.79%
- Fund size
- $63M
- 1Y return
- —
- Yield · Last 12 months
- —
- Holdings
- 7
- Volume · 30D
- 0M sh
- NAV per share
- $20.47
- 52W range
The ETF.net DDFN Grade
Score 44 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 50Category rankMission
How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.Not scoredRisk
How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.DScore 32Category rankTradability
How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.CScore 41Category rankHoldings
What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.Not scoredDurability
Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.BScore 66Category rank
Our read on DDFN
CBuffered S&P 500 exposure with a twist: a moderate market drop can register as a gain rather than a loss. This is the November series, resetting each November 1 with a 15% buffer running through the year.
The Fund seeks positive returns when its reference asset rises and in certain moderately declining markets, while limiting losses beyond the inverse-performance threshold through a buffer.
Why people hold it
- The dual-directional part: if the reference S&P 500 ETF ends the period down but inside the 15% buffer, the fund aims to pay that decline back as a positive return.innovatoretfs.com
- Losses only begin past a 15% drop over the outcome period, and the payoff sits inside a registered 1940 Act ETF rather than a bank-issued structured note.innovatoretfs.com
- One of a staggered family: DDFD carries the December reset, DDSQ uses a 5% buffer. All charge 0.79%, so the pick comes down to buffer size and calendar, not price.
- Stands in the upper half of its small dual-directional peer group, one of the better-built versions of an unusual payoff.
Worth knowing
- Upside is capped. A new cap is set when each November period begins, so a powerful rally in the index leaves some of the gain behind.
- Buffer and cap are measured from the period start to the October 31 finish. Buy mid-period and your own buffer and upside differ from the headline terms.
- Launched in November 2025 and lightly traded, with a 0.79% fee that reflects options work, not index pricing. Income isn't part of the design.
DDFN Holdings
- Stocks
- 7
- 105%
- SPY 10/30/2026 6.88 C
Sectors
DDFN Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
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.
| Period | DDFN |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +7.0% |
| 1 month | +0.5% |
| 3 months | +2.2% |
| 1 year | — |
| 3 years | — |
| 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 | DDFN |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +7.0% | |
| 2025 | +0.6% |
DDFN in the news
ETF.net Research hasn’t filed on DDFN yet — coverage lands here as it’s written.
DDFN Dividends
Listed Nov 2025. No distributions yet.
DDFN Risk
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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.
- —
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.
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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.
- 0.33
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
DDFN Cost
- The middle half of S&P 500 Dual Directional funds
- Median 0.79%
No S&P 500 Dual Directional fund charges less.