KJUL vs KOCT

KJULCInnovator Russell 2000 Power Buffer ETF - July

KOCTBInnovator U.S. Small Cap Power Buffer ETF

In short

KJUL Buffer funds mostly wrap the S&P 500. KJUL wraps small caps: it tracks IWM up to a cap reset each July, with the first 15% of losses over the outcome period absorbed for you. Live since 2020.

KOCT Small-cap exposure with a seatbelt. KOCT tracks IWM up to a yearly cap while absorbing the first 15% of losses, resetting each October 1. A 2019 original in a corner where most buffer funds are built on the S&P 500.

Stated mandate

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

KOCT The Fund seeks to track the return of the iShares Russell 2000 ETF, subject to a predetermined upside cap, while protecting against the first 15% of losses during the outcome period.

Why people hold it

• KJUL Small-cap downside cushioning is a thin niche. KJUL buffers the first 15% of IWM's losses over a one-year outcome period, in a plain 1940 Act ETF wrapper.innovatoretfs.com
• At 0.79% it matches the going rate for small-cap buffer funds and undercuts the FT Vest alternatives (SMAY, SNOV) at 0.90%.
• Part of a January/April/July/October series, so entries can be staggered across reset dates rather than pinned to one.innovatoretfs.com
• Easier to trade than most funds in this thin corner, and one of the stronger implementations in its small-cap buffer group. Running since 2020.

• KOCT The contract is plain: track the iShares Russell 2000 ETF up to a preset cap, with the first 15% of losses over the one-year outcome period absorbed first.innovatoretfs.com
• Rare air: it listed October 1, 2019 in Innovator's first small-cap buffer wave. Most defined-outcome ETFs wrap the S&P 500, not the Russell 2000.accessnewswire.com
• Fee lands at 0.79%, the middle of its small-cap buffer group, and the fund rates in the upper half of that group on our review.
• You pick your calendar. This is the October reset; siblings KJAN, KAPR and KJUL run the same 15% buffer off other quarters.

Worth knowing

• KJUL Protection stops at 15%. Losses past that come straight through, and the buffer is measured over the outcome period, not any 12 months you happen to hold.innovatoretfs.com
• The cap resets each July at whatever options pricing allows, so the ceiling shifts yearly. Buy mid-period and you get the remaining buffer and cap, not the headline terms.innovatoretfs.com
• At 0.79% it costs many times a plain small-cap index fund, and it hasn't been an income vehicle: the payoff shows up in price.

• KOCT The cap is the price of the cushion. A blistering small-cap year gets trimmed, and the cap is reset for each new outcome period starting October 1.
• Timing matters: Innovator notes the stated outcomes apply to holders from the first day of the outcome period through the last. Buy mid-period and your own cap and buffer differ.innovatoretfs.com
• Trading is light versus mainstream small-cap funds, and the options-based structure isn't built to throw off income.

Full KJUL profile⁠

Full KOCT profile⁠