DDNQ vs PQOC

DDNQCInnovator Growth-100 Dual Directional 5 Buffer ETF

PQOCBPGIM Nasdaq-100 Buffer 12 ETF - October

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.

PQOC Twelve points of downside cushion on the Nasdaq-100, reset every October. PGIM buffers the first 12% of a one-year loss on the big Nasdaq-100 ETF's own shares and caps the upside in exchange, for 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.

PQOC The Fund seeks to track the price return of the Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 up to a cap while buffering the first 12% of losses during the 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.

• PQOC Twelve points of cushion, not ten, and the fee is 0.50% against the 0.79% Innovator charges on its 10-point Nasdaq-100 buffer fund (QBUF).
• The reference is the shares of the Invesco QQQ Trust itself, not a custom index, so the thing being buffered is the Nasdaq-100 vehicle most investors already watch.
• One of four PGIM siblings on a quarterly calendar (PQJA starts in January, PQAP in April), so the October reset window is a choice, not a leftover.
• Priced below the typical shallow-buffer Nasdaq-100 fund, which matters in a structure where fees come straight out of a fixed pool of upside.

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.

• PQOC Upside is capped. A new ceiling gets set at the start of each October outcome period, and any Nasdaq-100 rally past it does not come through.
• The 12% buffer is designed for the full October-to-September period. Enter or exit mid-stream and you own the options at whatever they are worth that day.
• A small, thinly traded fund, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than on plain Nasdaq-100 funds.

Full DDNQ profile⁠

Full PQOC profile⁠