ZOCT paid its cap, then reset at 9.43%
In the week through October 2, 2026, Innovator's ZOCT reset at a 9.43% cap after its price rose 5.8% in the year ended September 30.
Key takeaways
Holders who stayed the year in Innovator's one-year October protection fund ZOCT got essentially the ceiling it had set. The fund is built to match an S&P 500 fund up to a cap, and to absorb all of that fund's losses, for one year.
From the end of September 2025 to the end of September 2026, the price of ZOCT rose 5.8%. Innovator had set that year's cap at 6.52%. The fund charges 0.79% a year and takes the fee out of the cap, so the net ceiling was 5.73%.
State Street's S&P 500 fund SPY was the fund ZOCT tracked that year. A holder of SPY earned 15.7% with dividends reinvested, more than two and a half times the 5.8% from ZOCT, which pays no dividend.
SPY returned 15.7% in the year ZOCT rose 5.8%
The new year
On Thursday, October 1, Innovator opened the next year, through September 30, 2027. The new cap is 9.43%, or 8.64% after the same fee, higher than last year's 6.52%.
On September 23, 2026, Innovator estimated the cap at 7.83% to 9.33%. The final number came in 0.1 percentage points above the top of that range.
On Friday, October 2, the largest holding was Vanguard's S&P 500 fund VOO, together with options on VOO expiring September 30, 2027. Last year the fund it tracked was SPY.
In the week through Friday, October 2, $73 million of ZOCT changed hands, 62 times the prior week's dollar volume. On Thursday, 1.7 million shares traded.
The fund had 3,750,000 shares on August 28, 2026, and 3,725,000 on October 1, with about $105 million in assets. The week's trading did not shrink it.
Innovator says the result it seeks is for someone who holds the whole year, and it does not guarantee that result. Friday's shares closed at $28.23, 0.4% above the $28.12 value of the assets behind each share.
ETFs in this story
Frequently asked questions
Did ZOCT holders get the cap?
Its price rose 5.8% in the year ended September 30, against a 6.52% cap that netted 5.73% after the 0.79% fee, so holders got essentially the ceiling.
How did that compare with the S&P 500 fund it tracked?
SPY returned 15.7% with dividends reinvested, more than two and a half times ZOCT's 5.8%, and ZOCT pays no dividend.
What cap did the fund reset at?
The new cap through September 30, 2027 is 9.43%, or 8.64% after the same fee, higher than last year's 6.52%.
Does Innovator guarantee that result?
Innovator says the result it seeks is for someone who holds the whole year, and it does not guarantee that result.
