KAPR vs SNOV

KAPRCInnovator U.S. Small Cap Power Buffer ETF - April

SNOVDFT Vest U.S. Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETF - November

In short

KAPR Small caps are the bumpiest ride in US equities. KAPR straps a cushion to them: it tracks the Russell 2000 ETF across an April-to-March outcome period, absorbing the first 15% of losses in exchange for a ceiling on the upside.

SNOV A buffer built on small caps, not the S&P 500. It uses options on the Russell 2000 to absorb the first 15% of a year's losses, with upside capped at a level set each November when the period resets.

Stated mandate

KAPR The fund seeks to follow the return of IWM up to a predetermined cap while protecting investors from the first 15% of losses during the outcome period, before fees and expenses.

SNOV The Fund seeks to match the price return of the iShares Russell 2000 ETF, subject to an upside cap, while buffering the first 15% of losses over its stated target outcome period.

Why people hold it

• KAPR The buffer is the whole point: over each outcome period the fund aims to absorb the first 15% of the Russell 2000 ETF's decline, before fees and expenses.innovatoretfs.com
• Costs 0.79% a year, level with Innovator's other small-cap buffer months and below the 0.90% charged by FT Vest's small-cap buffer funds (SMAY, SNOV).
• April is your anchor: the period runs April 1 to March 31 with a fresh cap each spring, and sibling funds on other months (KJAN, KJUL, KOCT) let you stagger start dates.
• Running since 2020 inside a plain 1940 Act ETF wrapper holding options, not a bank-issued note, so the payoff shape doesn't ride on one issuer's credit.innovatoretfs.com

• SNOV The contract is stated up front: options on the Russell 2000, the first 15% of price losses absorbed over roughly one year, upside capped. You know the shape going in.ftportfolios.com
• The sleeve is exchange-listed, centrally cleared FLEX options on one plain small-cap index fund, not a bank-issued structured note.ftportfolios.combusinesswire.com
• The November slot in First Trust's monthly small-cap buffer series, so a period reset is always coming; the same funds feed the firm's laddered version.businesswire.com

Worth knowing

• KAPR Thinly traded next to the heavyweights of the buffer world, so spreads deserve a look, and the stated buffer and cap apply to holders who own it start to finish of a period.innovatoretfs.com
• Upside stops at the cap struck each April, and the 15% cushion is measured before the 0.79% fee. Buy mid-period and you inherit whatever cap and remaining buffer exist that day.innovatoretfs.com
• Options do the work instead of shares, so Russell 2000 dividends don't flow through and the fund has not been making regular distributions.innovatoretfs.com

• SNOV At 0.90% it sits above the small-cap buffer norm. Innovator's Russell 2000 versions (KOCT, KJAN, KJUL) run 0.79%.
• Buffer and cap are struck at the period's start and quoted before fees and expenses. Buy mid-period and the cushion and ceiling you actually get will differ.businesswire.com
• Price return only, so Russell 2000 dividends don't pass through and this is not an income holding. It also trades lightly, which can widen spreads.ftportfolios.com

Full KAPR profile⁠

Full SNOV profile⁠