IAUG vs IOCT

IAUGBInnovator Intl Developed Power Buffer ETF

IOCTBInnovator 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.

IOCT Padding for the non-US sleeve. IOCT tracks the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, absorbs the first 15% of losses over each 12-month outcome period, and gives up gains above a cap in exchange. The clock resets every October 1.

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.

IOCT The fund seeks to track the return of the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, subject to a 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.

• IOCT The deal is written into the fund's own terms: the first 15 percentage points of the reference ETF's losses are absorbed over the outcome period, with upside capped at a level set at each reset.innovatoretfs.com
• The reference asset is the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, so the buffer sits on developed international stocks rather than the S&P 500 that most defined-outcome funds target.innovatoretfs.com
• Part of a monthly series (IJUL, IMAY, IMAR, IAPR and more) running the same 15% structure on staggered start months, so entry points are not limited to one date a year.
• Priced at 0.85%, the same as the median international buffer fund, and it grades in the upper half of a 17-fund peer group.

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.

• IOCT The 15% buffer and the cap are designed to work over a full outcome period. Buy partway through and you inherit whatever buffer and upside are left, not the headline terms.innovatoretfs.com
• Volume is light compared with mainstream international funds, which can mean wider spreads on the way in and out.
• This is an options package, not an income vehicle: it has not paid distributions over the past year, so any result shows up in the share price.

Full IAUG profile⁠

Full IOCT profile⁠