IAUG vs IDEC

IAUGBInnovator Intl Developed Power Buffer ETF

IDECCInnovator Intl Developed Power Buffer ETF

In short

IAUG Downside padding for foreign stocks instead of the usual S&P 500 target. IAUG shadows the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, absorbs the first 15% of a year's losses, and trades away upside above a cap reset every August 1.

IDEC Buffered international. IDEC follows the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF with the first 15% of losses absorbed and the upside capped over an approximately one-year outcome period that resets every December.

Stated mandate

IAUG The Fund seeks to match the return of its underlying ETF up to a predetermined upside cap while protecting against the first 15% of underlying ETF losses during the outcome period.

IDEC The Fund seeks to track the return of the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, subject to an upside cap, while protecting against the first 15% of losses during the approximately annual outcome period.

Why people hold it

• IAUG The deal is written down in advance: match the reference ETF's return up to a preset cap, with the first 15% of its losses absorbed over an outcome period running August 1 to July 31.innovatoretfs.com
• One rung in a 12-month ladder on the same EAFE exposure (IJUL, ISEP, IOCT and the rest), so entry points can be staggered rather than pinned to a single reset date.innovatoretfs.com
• At 0.85% a year, it charges the same as the median fund in its buffered-international peer group. No premium for the international twist.

• IDEC The 15% buffer is spelled out in the fund's own documents: it absorbs the first 15% of the reference ETF's losses over the outcome period, in exchange for an upside cap set at the start.innovatoretfs.com
• The reference is the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, so the defined-outcome machinery sits on developed Europe, Japan and Australia instead of the usual S&P 500.innovatoretfs.com
• At 0.85% a year it matches the going rate across the international buffer group (IJUL, IMAR and IAPR all charge the same). No premium for the December calendar.
• One rung on a monthly ladder: siblings such as IJUL, IMAR and ISEP run the identical strategy on other reset months, so start dates can be staggered.

Worth knowing

• IAUG Thinly traded with a small asset base, which usually means wider bid-ask spreads than the big buffer funds carry.
• The 15% buffer and the cap are engineered for investors who hold the full outcome period. Buy mid-period and your actual cushion and ceiling differ from the headline terms.innovatoretfs.com
• An options-built structure aimed at price outcomes, not cash flow. Distributions have not been part of the picture.

• IDEC Small and thinly traded next to the big US-equity buffer funds, so bid-ask spreads can widen. Limit orders matter more here.
• Terms reset annually. Buy mid-period and you inherit whatever cap and buffer remain, not the headline numbers from the period's start.innovatoretfs.com
• The cap is what pays for the buffer: gains above it stay behind. There is no regular distribution schedule either, so price change is the whole story.

Full IAUG profile⁠

Full IDEC profile⁠