NAPR vs NOCT

NAPRCInnovator Nasdaq 100 Power Buffer ETF - April

NOCTCInnovator Growth-100 Power Buffer ETF

In short

NAPR A one-year seatbelt on the Nasdaq-100. NAPR aims to absorb the first 15% of losses in the Nasdaq-100 ETF it references over each April-to-March stretch, in exchange for a ceiling on gains that is reset every April.

NOCT Nasdaq-100 exposure with a 15% airbag: over each one-year outcome period starting October 1, the fund absorbs the first 15% of the reference ETF's decline and gives up gains above a cap in return.

Stated mandate

NAPR The Fund seeks to track the return of the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), subject to a predetermined upside cap and protection against the first 15% of losses during the outcome period.

NOCT The Fund uses a defined-outcome strategy based on the Nasdaq-100 exposure of QQQ. It seeks to replicate the underlying ETF’s performance over the outcome period, subject to a capped upside and a 15% downside buffer.

Why people hold it

• NAPR Deep cushion by design: the structure targets the first 15 percentage points of reference-ETF losses over the outcome period, so you take the hit only past that line.innovatoretfs.com
• It rolls instead of expiring. Every April 1 the buffer resets and a fresh cap is struck for the next twelve months, so the position keeps running without you rebuilding it.innovatoretfs.com
• Running since 2020, this April vintage has several completed outcome periods behind it, back when defined-outcome funds were still a curiosity rather than a shelf.
• The 0.79% fee sits right at the median for Nasdaq-100 buffer funds, and the overall build lands in the upper half of that peer group.

• NOCT The deal is written into the prospectus: a 15% buffer against the reference Nasdaq-100 ETF's losses over each outcome period, paid for with a capped upside, reset every October 1.innovatoretfs.com
• Live since October 2019, so the reset-and-cap machinery has years of real market cycles behind it rather than a backtest.
• At 0.79%, the fee sits at the median for Nasdaq-100 buffer funds. The defined-outcome plumbing costs no premium versus the cohort.
• An October start date makes this the autumn rung for anyone spreading buffer exposure across reset months instead of concentrating on one date.

Worth knowing

• NAPR The cushion is paid for with a ceiling. Upside is capped at a level struck each April, so a blistering Nasdaq year above that cap is return you watch rather than collect.innovatoretfs.com
• Terms are built for the full April-to-March period. Buy mid-period and your personal cushion and ceiling differ from the headline numbers, sometimes a lot.innovatoretfs.com
• Mid-pack on cost, not cheap: PBQQ runs 0.50% and the Calamos Nasdaq-100 series 0.69%. Shares also trade thinly, which can widen the spread at the point of entry.

• NOCT Thinly traded, so spreads and limit orders matter more here than with the big plain-index funds.
• 0.79% is not the cohort floor: PBQQ runs 0.50% and the Calamos Nasdaq-100 protection funds 0.69%, on different protection terms.
• Buffer and cap are measured across the full outcome period. Enter mid-period and your effective buffer and remaining upside differ from the stated terms.innovatoretfs.com

Full NAPR profile⁠

Full NOCT profile⁠