IAUG vs IJAN

IAUGBInnovator Intl Developed Power Buffer ETF

IJANCInnovator International Developed Power Buffer ETF - January

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.

IJAN Most buffer ETFs babysit the S&P 500. IJAN aims the same machinery overseas: it tracks the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF up to a cap while absorbing the first 15% of losses over a one-year window that resets each January.

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.

IJAN The fund seeks to track the return of the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, subject to a predetermined cap, while protecting against the first 15% of losses during the 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.

• IJAN The 15% buffer is written into the fund's own terms: across each outcome period it is designed to absorb the first 15% of the reference ETF's losses before shareholders take any.innovatoretfs.com
• Costs 0.85% a year, level with the typical fund in its international buffer group. Options-based payoffs run pricier than plain index exposure, but this one is not an outlier.
• Clean annual calendar: one outcome period, January through December, with cap and buffer reset at the top of the year. Nothing to roll month to month.
• Running since 2020, so the reset mechanics have already cycled through multiple complete outcome periods rather than a single test run.

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.

• IJAN The stated cap and 15% buffer apply over a full outcome period. Enter mid-year and you get whatever cushion and upside remain, which Innovator posts on the fund page.innovatoretfs.com
• Upside is capped by design, and distributions have not been part of the picture. The cushion is paid for with surrendered rally and income.
• Thinly traded, so spreads can run wider than on mainstream ETFs. The same strategy also runs on a twelve-month rotation (IAPR, IJUL, IOCT), and the January edition lands in the lower half of that group.

Full IAUG profile⁠

Full IJAN profile⁠