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QBUF

GradeCNASDAQ Global Market

Innovator Nasdaq-100 10 Buffer ETF

Buffered · Innovator · Inception 2024-07-01

$31.08−0.18 (−0.57%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 2:19 PM EDT

History starts Jul 1, 2024.
Intraday session: down, 54 prints from 31.26 to 31.08. Range 31.02 to 31.33. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$31.00$31.20$31.3010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.79%
Fund size
$170M
1Y return
+9.1%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
6
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$30.71
52W range
low $28.49high $31.30

The ETF.net QBUF Grade

C

54/ 100

Rank 6 of 12 in Nasdaq-100 Buffer 9-12%⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for QBUF. Scores out of 100: Cost 45, Risk 65, Mission not scored, Tradability 58, Holdings not scored, Durability 61. Strongest: Risk (65). Weakest: Cost (45). Based on 4 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 54 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 45
    Category rank8/12 · mid-pack

  • 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.
    BScore 65
    Category rank3/12 · top 25%

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    BScore 58
    Category rank5/12 · 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.
    BScore 61
    Category rank5/12 · top 42%

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

Our read on QBUF

ETF.net Research

CBuffer funds usually run on a 12-month clock. QBUF resets every quarter: a 10% downside buffer on the Nasdaq-100 and a fresh upside cap, four times a year.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks to replicate the performance of an ETF tracking the Nasdaq-100 Index over quarterly outcome periods, subject to a predefined upside cap and a 10% downside buffer.

Why people hold it

  1. 01Quarterly outcome periods. The 10% buffer and a new cap reset four times a year, so a fresh starting line is never more than three months out.
  2. 02The reference asset is the Invesco QQQ Trust itself, not a custom index, so the outcome is keyed to a Nasdaq-100 vehicle you can watch in real time.
  3. 03The 0.79% fee is the median for shallow-buffer Nasdaq-100 funds, and this one sits in the upper half of that peer group overall.

Worth knowing

  1. 01Downside protection is paid for with upside. The cap is reset at the start of each quarter from option pricing, so the next period's ceiling isn't known in advance.
  2. 02The 10% buffer runs from the period's start and sits before fees. Buy mid-quarter and your actual cushion and cap differ from the headline terms.
  3. 03Pricier than some cousins: the PGIM Nasdaq-100 buffer series runs 0.50%, QTR 0.25%. It also trades thinly, so limit orders earn their keep.

QBUF Holdings

As of Sep 22, 2026, 10:01 PM
Asset class
Stocks
Holdings
6
Top-10 weight
100%
Largest holding
QQQ 09/30/2026 1.86 C99.3%

Sectors

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001—QQQ 09/30/2026 1.86 C99.31%2,319$171M1
002—QQQ 09/30/2026 736.41 P0.72%2,319$1M1
003—US BANK MMDA - USBGFS 9 09/01/20370.09%153,751$154K161

Showing 1–3 of 3 holdings

QBUF Performance

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

QBUF$10,906
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,723
Sep 22, 2025 to Sep 22, 2026. QBUF $10,906. SPY $11,723. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$9,353$10,646$11,940Sep 2025Mar 2026Sep 2026

Sep 22, 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 QBUF. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodQBUF
Year to date+6.6%
1 month+1.7%
3 months+1.7%
1 year+9.1%
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 QBUF
YearReturn barQBUF
2026 YTD+6.6%
2025+11.1%
2024+5.9%

Since listing, Jul 1, 2024

QBUF in the news

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

QBUF Dividends

This fund pays no distributions.
—Last 12 months
Payout per share
—Last 12 months

No distributions in the last 12 months.

QBUF Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
4.4%
Annualised · 25 months to Aug 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.
1.42
vs 3-month T-bills · 25 months to Aug 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.
−8.8%
26 months · 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.
0.28
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.

QBUF Cost

Expense ratio0.79%
  • The middle half of Nasdaq-100 Buffer 9-12% funds
  • Median 0.79%

5 of the 12 Nasdaq-100 Buffer 9-12% funds charge less.

QBUF costs $79.00 a year on $10,000. The median Nasdaq-100 Buffer 9-12% fund costs $79.00.