BNOV vs XTR

BNOVCInnovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF

XTRCGlobal X S&P 500 Tail Risk ETF

In short

BNOV The November rung of Innovator's buffer lineup: it follows the big S&P 500 ETF up to a cap set each November 1 and absorbs that ETF's first 9% of losses, then starts over a year later.

XTR Most downside-protection ETFs sell away your upside to pay for it. XTR pays cash instead: it owns the S&P 500 stocks and buys 10% out-of-the-money puts every quarter, leaving the upside uncapped.

Stated mandate

BNOV The fund seeks to track SPY up to a predetermined cap while buffering investors against the first 9% of losses over the outcome period.

XTR The Fund seeks to track the performance of the Cboe S&P 500 Tail Risk Index before fees and expenses.

Why people hold it

• BNOV The contract is simple: the first 9% of the reference S&P 500 ETF's decline is buffered over the outcome period, with gains capped at a level fixed at the start.
• Running since its 2019 launch, it resets on a fixed calendar: a fresh buffer and cap every November 1, through the following October 31.
• The 0.79% expense ratio sits right at the median for shallow-buffer funds built on the same S&P 500 ETF.
• The defined outcome arrives in a plain 1940 Act ETF wrapper, not a bank-issued structured note.

• XTR No cap on the gains. The hedge is bought with cash rather than funded by selling calls, so index rallies come through less the put premium and fees.sec.gov
• Costs 0.25%, well under half of what the defined-outcome funds it competes with typically charge for downside protection.
• Owns the roughly 500 S&P 500 stocks themselves, with the put position layered on top, rather than wrapping the index in a stack of options.sec.gov
• Rules-based and mechanical: puts are bought at 10% below the prevailing index level each quarter and held to expiration, with no manager guessing at timing.sec.gov

Worth knowing

• BNOV Priced with the pack at 0.79%, but cheaper paths to a buffer exist, including the laddered BUFB at 0.10%.
• The buffer and cap are engineered for a full outcome period. Buying mid-period means your effective protection and upside differ from the headline terms.
• It trades thinly next to its peers, and across a crowded field of 50-plus shallow-buffer funds it sits in the lower half on cost, trading and risk.

• XTR Protection starts about 10% down and resets quarterly, so garden-variety dips are absorbed in full and the gap widens if the market rallies mid-quarter.sec.gov
• Insurance is not free. The quarterly premium is a steady cost against plain index exposure, and in calm markets the puts expire worthless.sec.gov
• A small fund that trades thinly, so limit orders matter and subscale products carry more risk of being closed than the category's giants.

Full BNOV profile⁠

Full XTR profile⁠