
Innovator U.S. Equity 5 to 15 Buffer ETF
$37.06+0.03 (+0.07%)
- 0.69%
- $189M
- +8.5%
- 0M sh
- $37.01
- low $33.45high $37.10
The ETF.net EALT Grade
Score 57 out of 100
- 18 of 77
Score 57 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.A82 out of 100Rank 14 of 77Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A84 out of 100Rank 6 of 7Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.F23 out of 100Rank 74 of 76Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.C43 out of 100Rank 47 of 77Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.C52 out of 100Rank 29 of 44Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.B62 out of 100Rank 26 of 77
Our read on EALT
BMost buffer funds cushion your first dollar of loss. EALT skips that, absorbing the 5% to 15% slice of an S&P 500 ETF's decline instead, and resetting every three months. You wear the first 5%, and the upside is capped.
The fund seeks to track the return of an S&P 500 ETF, subject to a cap, while providing downside protection within the 5% to 15% loss range during each three-month outcome period.
Why people hold it
- A 10-point protected band placed over the 5% to 15% loss zone, the ordinary-pullback range, referenced to a plain S&P 500 ETF (VOO).
- Outcome periods run three months, so buffer and cap reset four times a year rather than once. Less waiting to get back to fresh terms.
- 0.69% a year undercuts the typical shallow-buffer fund at 0.79%, and matches Innovator's own quarterly first-dollar sibling ZALT.
- Live since 2023 and one of the stronger builds in a shallow-buffer field of 50-plus competing funds.
Worth knowing
- The first 5% of a decline is yours, and so is anything below 15%. This is a band of protection, not a floor.
- Upside is capped, with a new cap set each three-month period. Buy mid-period and your buffer and cap differ from the stated terms.
- A smaller, thinly traded fund, so spreads can run wider than in the category's heavyweights. The structure targets price outcomes, not income.
EALT Holdings
- Stocks
- 5
- 101%
- VOO
Sectors
- Technology38.7%
- Financials12.0%
- Communication9.5%
- Consumer Discretionary9.3%
- Health Care9.3%
- Industrials7.8%
- Consumer Staples4.5%
- Energy3.5%
- Utilities2.0%
- Real Estate1.8%
- Materials1.7%
Geography
- United States100.00%
EALT 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 Oct 12, 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 | EALT |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +4.9% |
| 1 month | +1.4% |
| 3 months | +2.7% |
| 1 year | +8.5% |
| 3 years | +12.7% |
| 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 | EALT |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +4.9% | |
| 2025 | +9.5% | |
| 2024 | +18.0% | |
| 2023 | +6.8% |
EALT in the news

Filings Digest
AllianzIM launches OCTI and resets October buffer terms




EALT Dividends
No distributions in the last 12 months.
EALT Risk
- 8.8%
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.
- 0.98
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.
- −14.8%
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.
- 0.67
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
EALT Cost
- The middle half of S&P 500 Buffer 9-12% funds
- Median 0.79%
13 of the 77 S&P 500 Buffer 9-12% funds charge less.
Other funds in S&P 500 Buffer 9-12%
- BAPRPPGIM Rock ETF Trust - PGIM S&P 500 Buffer 12 ETF - AprilExpense ratio 0.50%1 year return +16.4%
- BBSEPInnovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETFExpense ratio 0.79%1 year return +15.0%
- BPJUNInnovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - JuneExpense ratio 0.79%1 year return +9.1%
- BSIXPAllianzIM U.S. Equity 6 Month Buffer10 Mar/Sep ETFExpense ratio 0.74%1 year return +14.3%
- CBJULInnovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETFExpense ratio 0.79%1 year return +14.7%