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Launched

Innovator Power Buffer Step-Up Strategy ETF

PSTPNYSE ArcaInnovatorF

$37.09−0.17 (−0.45%)

As of Nov 10, 2026, 11:25 AM ET

F25/ 100

Rank 60 of 61 in S&P 500 Buffer 15%

F25/100Rank 60 of 61inS&P 500 Buffer 15%
Intraday session: down, 23 prints from 37.26 to 37.09. Range 37.07 to 37.23. Use the arrow keys to read each point.37.1537.2010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.89%
Fund size
$130M
1Y total return
+7.3%
Yield · Last 12 months
No data
Holdings
3
Avg volume · 30D
7.13K sh
52W range
low $33.69high $37.91
Launched

The ETF.net PSTP Grade

Based on 4 of 6 pillars

F

Score 25 out of 100

Category
S&P 500 Buffer 15%⁠
Rank
60 of 61
Six-pillar profile for PSTP. Scores out of 100: Cost 0, Risk 36, Mission not scored, Tradability 53, Holdings not scored, Durability 60. Strongest: Durability (60). Weakest: Cost (0). Based on 4 of 6 pillars.

Score 25 of 100 falls in the D band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25. The letter stays F for now. A new letter must hold for 3 published runs before it replaces it.

  • Cost

    The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.
    F0 out of 100
    Rank 61 of 61

  • 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.
    D36 out of 100
    Rank 47 of 60

  • Tradability

    How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.
    C53 out of 100
    Rank 29 of 61

  • Holdings

    How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.
    Not scored

  • Durability

    Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.
    B60 out of 100
    Rank 30 of 61

Our read on PSTP

ETF.net Research

In short

FMost buffer ETFs hand you one reset date a year and wish you luck. PSTP is checked monthly and can step its protection up to a higher level after a rally, with one-year FLEX options doing the work behind a single ticker.

Stated mandate

PSTP seeks risk-managed exposure to SPY through an opportunistically managed, monthly evaluated buffer strategy. It uses one-year FLEX options and may also invest directly in SPY or its components, subject to an upside limit and downside-loss protection.

Why people hold it

  • The step-up idea: the buffer is evaluated monthly rather than parked on one annual reset date, so a rally can lift the level the protection is measured from.innovatoretfs.com
  • One ticker, no calendar homework. The reset timing is managed inside the fund instead of you laddering a shelf of dated January-through-December series.innovatoretfs.com
  • The reference is SPY itself, and the fund can hold SPY or its components directly alongside the one-year FLEX options rather than tracking a synthetic proxy.innovatoretfs.com

Worth knowing

  • Active management costs: 0.89% a year, above the 0.79% median for S&P 500 buffer funds and above Innovator's own dated Power Buffer series such as PMAY.
  • The cushion is bought with your upside: gains are capped, and anyone buying mid-period inherits whatever cap and remaining buffer exist that day, not the headline terms.innovatoretfs.com
  • Trading is light next to the category's household names, so spreads can widen, and the options package has not been throwing off distributions.

PSTP Performance

Launched Mar 8, 2022

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

Not enough history yet.Not enough history yet.
PSTP$10,725
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,339
Nov 7, 2025 to Nov 9, 2026. PSTP $10,725. SPY $11,339. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$10,000$11,000Nov 2025May 2026Nov 2026

Nov 7, 2025 – Nov 9, 2026

Returns run to the Nov 9, 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 PSTP. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodPSTP
Year to date+5.4%
1 month−1.5%
3 months−0.4%
1 year+7.3%
3 yearsper year+11.5%
5 yearsFund is under 5 years oldper yearNo data
10 yearsFund is under 10 years oldper yearNo data

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 PSTP
YearReturn barPSTP
2026 YTD+5.4%
2025+10.4%
2024+13.5%
2023+13.7%
2022−2.8%

Since listing, Mar 8, 2022

PSTP in the news

PSTP Dividends

This fund pays no distributions.
No dataLast 12 months
Payout per share
No dataLast 12 months

No distributions in the last 12 months.

PSTP Risk

Risk pillarD36 out of 100Rank 47 of 60 in S&P 500 Buffer 15%
How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
5.9%
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.
1.25
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.
−12.5%
56 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.
0.52
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.

PSTP Cost

Compare PSTP and CAUG

Overpaying vs CAUG, tied cheapest in S&P 500 Buffer 15%

$10,723

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

  • PSTP 0.89%

    $16,872

  • CAUG 0.30% Tied cheapest

    $6,149

$10,000
30 years

Cost over time

  • PSTP 0.89%
  • CAUG 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$20K051015202530PSTP $16,872CAUG $6,149

Year by year

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

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