DDNQ vs PQJA

DDNQCInnovator Growth-100 Dual Directional 5 Buffer ETF

PQJABPGIM Nasdaq-100 Buffer 12 ETF - January

In short

DDNQ Most Nasdaq-100 buffer funds only cushion small drops. DDNQ is built to get paid for them: if its Nasdaq-100 reference dips within the 5% buffer, that decline can register as a positive return, with the upside capped and the terms reset each quarter.

PQJA A one-year seatbelt on the Nasdaq-100: PQJA absorbs the first 12% of price losses on the index's flagship ETF and gives up gains above a cap in exchange. A deeper cushion than most of its buffer peers, at 0.50% a year.

Stated mandate

DDNQ The Fund seeks capital appreciation through a defined-outcome strategy based on the Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1. It seeks positive returns when the reference ETF rises or falls modestly, while applying an upside cap and a 5% loss buffer for larger declines.

PQJA The Fund seeks to match QQQ’s price return up to a predetermined cap while buffering the first 12% of QQQ losses over a one-year target outcome period.

Why people hold it

• DDNQ The dual directional twist: per the prospectus, a modest decline in the reference ETF can count as a positive return, up to the 5% buffer, instead of just being absorbed.innovatoretfs.com
• Outcome periods run a quarter at a time, so cap and buffer terms are reset four times a year rather than locked in annually.innovatoretfs.com
• Defined-outcome math inside a plain 1940 Act ETF on QQQ, not a bank-issued structured note.
• The 0.79% expense ratio lands right at the median for Nasdaq-100 buffer funds, so the unusual payoff shape does not come with an above-group fee.

• PQJA Cushions the first 12% of the tracked Nasdaq-100 ETF's price losses over each one-year outcome period, deeper than the 10-point buffer on Innovator's QBUF.pgim.com
• Charges 0.50% a year against a 0.79% median for its Nasdaq-100 buffer cohort, where QBUF sits at 0.79%.
• January is one of four PGIM Nasdaq-100 buffer funds on a quarterly calendar (PQAP, PQJL, PQOC), so outcome periods aren't tied to a single start month.
• Launched in 2024 and rated in the upper half of its shallow-buffer Nasdaq-100 group on our review.

Worth knowing

• DDNQ The buffer is 5%, thin next to the 12% and full-protection options in the group. Past a 5% drop over the period, further losses pass through.
• Upside is capped every period, and the cap is set anew at each reset, so a big Nasdaq-100 run gets clipped. The stated outcomes assume you hold a full period.innovatoretfs.com
• Cheaper ways into this cohort exist (PBQQ at 0.50%, the Calamos funds at 0.69%), and DDNQ launched in 2026, so it is early in building assets and trading depth.

• PQJA Upside stops at a cap that resets with each new one-year period, and the mandate follows price return, so index dividends aren't part of the payoff.
• The 12% buffer and the cap are measured across a full outcome period. Buy partway through and your effective cushion and ceiling differ from the headline terms.pgim.com
• A small, thinly traded fund next to the largest buffer products, which can show up as wider bid-ask spreads.

Full DDNQ profile⁠

Full PQJA profile⁠