BUFC vs PFEB

BUFCBAB Conservative Buffer ETF

PFEBCInnovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF

In short

BUFC Most buffer funds lock you into a 12-month outcome period. BUFC resets every three months, targeting 15% downside protection against the S&P 500 with roughly 3% of the upside per period. Deep cushion, short leash.

PFEB February is the whole point. PFEB restarts each year with a fresh 15% cushion against SPY losses, in exchange for a ceiling on the upside that resets at the same time. Same recipe as its sibling months, different calendar.

Stated mandate

BUFC The Fund is an actively managed equity ETF seeking conservative capital appreciation with potential partial downside protection. It uses options to establish an upside cap and downside protection over rolling three-month periods, targeting 15% downside protection and about 3% upside participation to the S&P 500.

PFEB The Fund seeks to follow SPY’s return up to a predetermined cap and protect investors from the first 15% of losses during the outcome period.

Why people hold it

• BUFC Uses options to target 15% downside protection against the S&P 500 over rolling three-month periods, so the cushion resets four times a year instead of once.alliancebernstein.com
• At 0.69%, it costs less than Innovator's 0.79% Power Buffer funds (PJUL, PJAN, POCT) and less than the typical fund in its buffer cohort.
• Actively managed rather than pinned to a calendar index series, running since 2023, and among the stronger implementations in its buffer peer group.

• PFEB The contract is simple: absorb the first 15% of SPY's decline over the outcome period, then follow SPY's gains up to a predetermined cap.innovatoretfs.com
• The reference asset is SPY itself, not a bespoke in-house index. You are hedging the same S&P 500 exposure millions of people already hold.innovatoretfs.com
• At 0.79%, the fee sits right at the middle of its buffer-fund cohort. The options machinery costs what it costs across this group.
• Innovator has run the February lane since 2020, and the fund stands in the upper half of a crowded field of 15% buffer strategies.

Worth knowing

• BUFC The price of that deep cushion: upside participation is targeted near 3% per three-month period, so big rallies mostly pass you by.
• Protection is partial and period-based. Losses past the targeted 15% pass through, and buying mid-period shifts your effective buffer and cap.alliancebernstein.com
• Thinly traded for its size, so spreads and limit orders deserve attention.

• PFEB Buffer and cap are defined for a full outcome period. Enter mid-period and you inherit whatever cushion and upside are left, not the headline 15%.innovatoretfs.com
• The cap cuts both ways. In a roaring year for the S&P 500, participation stops where the cap stops.innovatoretfs.com
• It trades less actively than the largest buffer ETFs, which can show up as wider bid-ask spreads. Also a price-return vehicle: no distribution stream.

Full BUFC profile⁠

Full PFEB profile⁠