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BUFS vs KOCT

FT Vest Laddered Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETF

BUFSDCboe

Innovator U.S. Small Cap Power Buffer ETF

KOCTBCboe

Overlap

Expense ratio

KOCT −0.22pt a year

BUFS1.01%KOCT0.79%

Avg volume · 30D

BUFS 1.1×the volume

BUFS32.4KKOCT28.7K

BUFS vs KOCT Performance

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

+9.4%BUFS+13.8%KOCT

Oct 31, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026. BUFS +9.4%. KOCT +13.8%. Use the arrow keys to read each point.0%5%Oct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026
Expense ratio
BUFS 1.01%
KOCT 0.79%, better
Fund size
BUFS $200M
KOCT $171M
1Y total return
BUFS +9.4%
KOCT +13.8%, better
Yield (12M)
BUFS No data
KOCT 0.00%
Holdings
BUFS 5
KOCT 3
Avg volume (30D)
BUFS 32.4K sh, better
KOCT 28.7K sh
NAV per share
BUFS $24.82
KOCT $37.89
52W range

ETF.net Grade

BUFS: Cost 0, Risk 54, Mission not scored, Tradability 72, Holdings 63, Durability 83. KOCT: Cost 40, Risk 58, Mission 89, Tradability 82, Holdings not scored, Durability 87.
Pillar letters and Scores for BUFS, KOCT, with each pillar’s weight
PillarBUFSKOCT
Cost30% weightF0C40Higher
Mission25% weightNot scoredA89
Risk15% weightC54B58Higher
Tradability15% weightA72A82Higher
Holdings10% weightB63Not scored
Durability5% weightA83A87Higher

Rank among Russell 2000 Buffer 15% funds

How we build Categories ›
Same Category. Both funds are graded against the same funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Same Category. BUFS and KOCT are both graded against the same 14 Russell 2000 Buffer 15% funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Russell 2000 Buffer 15%⁠

Category · 14 funds
See all 14 ›

KOCT ranks 3rd and BUFS 12th of 14 funds in the Russell 2000 Buffer 15% Category.

  1. Rank 1BQBKFAllianzim U.S. Small Cap Buffer15 ETFScore 64
  2. Rank 2BQBKVAllianzim U.S. Small Cap Buffer5 ETFScore 58
  3. Rank 3BKOCTInnovator U.S. Small Cap Power Buffer ETFScore 57
  4. Rank 4CKAPRInnovator U.S. Small Cap Power Buffer ETF - AprilScore 52
  5. Rank 7CSCMYCorgi U.S. Small-Cap 15% Structured Buffer ETF - May SeriesScore 40
  6. Rank 12DBUFSFT Vest Laddered Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETFScore 35
  7. Rank 13DSNOVFT Vest U.S. Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETF - NovemberScore 34

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

BUFSDFT Vest Laddered Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETF

KOCTBInnovator U.S. Small Cap Power Buffer ETF

In short

BUFS Most buffer funds make you pick a start month and live with it. BUFS ladders First Trust's small-cap buffer funds instead, so one ticker holds several outcome periods at different stages.

KOCT Small-cap exposure with a seatbelt. KOCT tracks IWM up to a yearly cap while absorbing the first 15% of losses, resetting each October 1. A 2019 original in a corner where most buffer funds are built on the S&P 500.

Stated mandate

BUFS The fund seeks capital appreciation by providing small-cap equity exposure through a laddered portfolio of FT Vest U.S. Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETFs while attempting to limit downside risk.

KOCT The Fund seeks to track the return of the iShares Russell 2000 ETF, subject to a predetermined upside cap, while protecting against the first 15% of losses during the outcome period.

Why people hold it

  • BUFS Laddering spreads the money across outcome periods that begin at different times, so buying on a random Tuesday doesn't lock you into one cap and one buffer window.
  • Puts the moderate-buffer wrapper on small caps, benchmarked to the Russell 2000 via IWM, rather than the large-cap index most defined-outcome funds are built on.
  • One holding does the housekeeping: no DIY stack of separate buffer funds, no roll-date calendar to babysit.
  • KOCT The contract is plain: track the iShares Russell 2000 ETF up to a preset cap, with the first 15% of losses over the one-year outcome period absorbed first.innovatoretfs.com
  • Rare air: it listed October 1, 2019 in Innovator's first small-cap buffer wave. Most defined-outcome ETFs wrap the S&P 500, not the Russell 2000.accessnewswire.com
  • Fee lands at 0.79%, the middle of its small-cap buffer group, and the fund rates in the upper half of that group on our review.
  • You pick your calendar. This is the October reset; siblings KJAN, KAPR and KJUL run the same 15% buffer off other quarters.

Worth knowing

  • BUFS Fees run 1.01% a year, above the roughly 0.89% median for buffer ETFs. Structured downside cushioning rents expensive shelf space.
  • Laddering blurs the math. At any moment you hold partial buffers and partial caps across several periods, so there's no single clean protection number to point at.
  • Launched in 2024 and lightly traded, so the record is short and the bid-ask spread is part of what you pay.
  • KOCT The cap is the price of the cushion. A blistering small-cap year gets trimmed, and the cap is reset for each new outcome period starting October 1.
  • Timing matters: Innovator notes the stated outcomes apply to holders from the first day of the outcome period through the last. Buy mid-period and your own cap and buffer differ.innovatoretfs.com
  • Trading is light versus mainstream small-cap funds, and the options-based structure isn't built to throw off income.

Full BUFS profile⁠

Full KOCT profile⁠

BUFS vs KOCT Holdings

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

BUFS vs KOCT Cost

Overpaying BUFS vs KOCT

$3,676

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

  • BUFS 1.01%

    $18,850

  • KOCT 0.79%

    $15,174

$10,000
30 years

Cost over time

  • BUFS 1.01%
  • KOCT 0.79%
  • Overpaying
One line per fund, from year 0 to year 30. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$5K$10K$15K$20K051015202530BUFS $18,850KOCT $15,174

Year by year

YearBUFSKOCTOverpaying
10$1,780$1,405$375
20$6,686$5,331$1,355
30$18,850$15,174$3,676

Expense ratio

  • 1.01%BUFS
  • 0.79%KOCT, cheaper
  • Middle half of Russell 2000 Buffer 15% funds
  • Median 0.77%

KOCT 8th cheapest of 14 funds

BUFS 14th cheapest of 14 funds

BUFS vs KOCT Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026
Yield (12M)
BUFS No data
KOCT 0.00%
Payout (12M)
BUFS None
KOCT None

Distribution history

Per share, 2019, same scale for both

BUFSAll BUFS payments⁠

No distribution history available.

KOCT1 paymentAll KOCT payments⁠
One bar per payment. 1 payment in 2019. Nov 19, 2019 $0.20. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$0.202019

BUFS vs KOCT Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years
BUFS 8.2%since Jun 2024KOCT 8.8%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years
BUFS 0.61since Jun 2024KOCT 1.17
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years
BUFS −15.0%since May 2024KOCT −16.6%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years
BUFS 0.53KOCT 0.69

Popular comparisons

  • BUFSDvsQBKFB

    FT Vest Laddered Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETF · Allianzim U.S. Small Cap Buffer15 ETF

    Expense ratio
    1.01% · 0.74%
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  • KOCTBvsQBKFB

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    0.79% · 0.74%
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  • BUFSDvsKAPRC

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    Expense ratio
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  • KOCTBvsKAPRC

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    Expense ratio
    0.79% · 0.79%
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