BUFC vs PSTP

BUFCBAB Conservative Buffer ETF

PSTPFInnovator Power Buffer Step-Up Strategy 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.

PSTP Most 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

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.

PSTP 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

• 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.

• PSTP 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

• 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.

• PSTP 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.

Full BUFC profile⁠

Full PSTP profile⁠