KOCT vs SMAY: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Innovator U.S. Small Cap Power Buffer ETF

KOCTBCboe

FT Vest U.S. Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETF - May

SMAYDCboe

Overlap

0.0%by weight

Expense ratio

KOCT −0.11pt a year

KOCT0.79%SMAY0.90%

Avg volume · 30D

KOCT 4.1×the volume

KOCT29.1KSMAY7.11K

3Y return · a year

KOCT +3.0pt

KOCT+13.4%SMAY+10.4%

KOCT vs SMAY Performance

Nov 5, 2025 – Nov 5, 2026

+12.4%KOCT+7.1%SMAY

Expense ratio: KOCT 0.79%, better; SMAY 0.90%
Fund size: KOCT $173M; SMAY $112M
1Y total return: KOCT +12.4%, better; SMAY +7.1%
Yield (12M): KOCT 0.00%; SMAY No data
Holdings: KOCT 3; SMAY 3
Avg volume (30D): KOCT 29.1K sh, better; SMAY 7.11K sh
NAV per share: KOCT $38.24; SMAY $28.05
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for KOCT, SMAY, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	KOCT	SMAY
Cost30% weight	C40Higher	F8
Mission25% weight	A89	Not scored
Risk15% weight	B59Higher	C45
Tradability15% weight	A81Higher	D29
Holdings10% weight	Not scored	B60
Durability5% weight	A87Higher	A79

Rank among Russell 2000 Buffer 15% funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. KOCT and SMAY are both graded against the same 14 Russell 2000 Buffer 15% funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Russell 2000 Buffer 15%⁠

Category · 14 funds

See all 14 ›

KOCT ranks 3rd and SMAY 14th of 14 funds in the Russell 2000 Buffer 15% Category.

Rank 1BQBKFAllianzim U.S. Small Cap Buffer15 ETFScore 64
Rank 2BQBKVAllianzim U.S. Small Cap Buffer5 ETFScore 59
Rank 3BKOCTInnovator U.S. Small Cap Power Buffer ETFScore 57
Rank 4CKAPRInnovator U.S. Small Cap Power Buffer ETF - AprilScore 52
Rank 13DSNOVFT Vest U.S. Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETF - NovemberScore 35
Rank 14DSMAYFT Vest U.S. Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETF - MayScore 26

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

KOCTBInnovator U.S. Small Cap Power Buffer ETF

SMAYDFT Vest U.S. Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETF - May

In short

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.

SMAY Small caps with a seatbelt. SMAY absorbs the first 15% of a price decline in the Russell 2000 ETF over each one-year outcome period, trading that cushion for a ceiling on the upside. The clock resets every May.

Stated mandate

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.

SMAY The Fund seeks price-return participation in the iShares Russell 2000 ETF up to a 19.15% cap, while protecting the first 15% of losses during the May 18, 2026–May 21, 2027 outcome period.

Why people hold it

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.

SMAY The 15% buffer is written into the fund's design, not a target: over a full outcome period it takes the first 15% of a price drop in the iShares Russell 2000 ETF before you feel it.
Defined-outcome mechanics point at small caps, a corner of the buffer market where the field is thin and the reference is a single, widely held Russell 2000 fund.
The May start date lets you stagger entry across the calendar alongside other dated small-cap buffer funds (KJAN, KAPR, KJUL, KOCT) instead of betting on one reset month.
What's inside matches what's on the label: options tied to one reference fund, no drift, no side bets.

Worth knowing

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.

SMAY The buffer and the cap belong to the full outcome period. Buy in the middle and you get whatever cushion and headroom are left, not the stated 15%.
At 0.90% a year, it sits above the 0.79% charged by the Innovator small-cap buffer funds running the same playbook.
It trades lightly, so spreads at the point of entry or exit can matter more than they would in a busier fund.

Full KOCT profile⁠

Full SMAY profile⁠

KOCT vs SMAY Holdings

How KOCT and SMAY differ

Overlap by weight

0.0%

About this figure: SMAY holds other funds. We compare those funds, not the stocks inside them.

Level by level

Holdings0 in both0.0%
Sector11 Sectors98.6%
Countryby domicile100%

Sector

Sector weights in KOCT and SMAY, widest gap first
Sector	Gap	KOCT	SMAY
Industrials	SMAY +0.7 points	12.7%	13.4%
Energy	KOCT +0.5 points	6.8%	6.3%
Consumer Discretionary	KOCT +0.5 points	9.1%	8.6%
Technology	SMAY +0.4 points	14.0%	14.4%
Financials	KOCT +0.2 points	18.2%	18.0%
Materials	SMAY +0.2 points	4.1%	4.3%
Health Care	KOCT +0.1 points	21.0%	20.9%
Utilities	KOCT +0.1 points	2.8%	2.7%
Communication	SMAY +0.1 points	2.2%	2.3%
Real Estate	Same weight	6.5%	6.5%
Consumer Staples	Same weight	2.6%	2.6%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in KOCT and SMAY, widest gap first
Country	Gap	KOCT	SMAY
United States	Same weight	98.4%	98.4%
Brazil	Same weight	0.6%	0.6%
Switzerland	Same weight	0.3%	0.3%
Canada	Same weight	0.2%	0.2%
United Kingdom	Same weight	0.2%	0.2%
Taiwan	Same weight	0.1%	0.1%
Norway	Same weight	0.1%	0.1%
Singapore	Same weight	0.1%	0.1%
Other countries (5)	Same weight	0.1%	0.1%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

KOCT105.0%
SMAY102.3%

Securities held

KOCT3
SMAY2

Asset class

KOCT: Stocks
SMAY: Multi-Asset

Holdings

Only in KOCT3
In both0
Only in SMAY2

Only in KOCT

3 securities, 100% of KOCT by weight

Iwm 09/30/2027 2.78 C99.11%
Iwm 09/30/2027 277.89 P5.53%
Us Bank Mmda - Usbgfs 9 09/01/20370.32%

Only in SMAY

2 securities, 100% of SMAY by weight

2027-05-21 iShares Russell 2000 ETF C 2.7897.45%
2027-05-21 iShares Russell 2000 ETF P 277.604.04%

Weight gaps

KOCT and SMAY share no securities.

All 6 KOCT holdings⁠All 4 SMAY holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

KOCT vs SMAY Cost

Overpaying SMAY vs KOCT

$1,866

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

KOCT 0.79%
$15,174
SMAY 0.90%
$17,040

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

KOCT 0.79%
SMAY 0.90%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	KOCT	SMAY	Overpaying
10	$1,405	$1,593	$188
20	$5,331	$6,015	$684
30	$15,174	$17,040	$1,866

Expense ratio

0.79%KOCT, cheaper
0.90%SMAY

KOCT0.79%SMAY0.90%

0.30%1.01%

Middle half of Russell 2000 Buffer 15% funds
Median 0.77%

KOCT 8th cheapest of 14 funds

SMAY 12th cheapest of 14 funds

KOCT vs SMAY Dividends

Last 12 months to Nov 5, 2026

Yield (12M): KOCT 0.00%; SMAY No data
Payout (12M): KOCT None; SMAY None

Distribution history

Per share, 2019, same scale for both

KOCT1 paymentAll KOCT payments⁠

SMAYAll SMAY payments⁠

No distribution history available.

KOCT vs SMAY Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: KOCT 8.8%, betterSMAY 9.3%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: KOCT 1.17, betterSMAY 0.82
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: KOCT −16.6%SMAY −14.5%since May 2023
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: KOCT 0.63SMAY 0.58; Market = 1

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