IJUL vs IOCT

IJULBInnovator Intl Developed Power Buffer ETF

IOCTBInnovator Intl Developed Power Buffer ETF

In short

IJUL Most buffer ETFs babysit the S&P 500. IJUL points the same 15% downside cushion at developed markets outside the US, tracking an EAFE index fund up to a cap over a one-year outcome period that restarts each July.

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

IJUL The fund seeks to track the return of the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA) up to a predetermined cap while protecting against the first 15% of 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

• IJUL The mechanics are fixed by prospectus: absorb the first 15% of the reference ETF's losses over the outcome period, participate in gains up to a cap set when that period begins.innovatoretfs.com
• Foreign exposure, not another S&P 500 clone. The reference asset is the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, so the buffer sits on developed-market equity.innovatoretfs.com
• At 0.85% a year, it charges exactly the median fee of its buffer peer group. No surcharge for pointing the structure overseas.
• Running since 2019 and one of the strongest implementations in its cohort, with sibling months (IMAR, IAPR, IMAY) available if you want staggered start dates.

• 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

• IJUL The cap is the price of the cushion: upside stops there for the period. Buying mid-period means your own buffer and cap differ from the stated terms.
• Return comes from share price, not income. The options-based structure has produced no distributions, so EAFE's dividend stream is not passed through.
• Volume is light next to plain index funds, so spreads and limit orders matter more at the moment you trade.

• 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 IJUL profile⁠

Full IOCT profile⁠