NBFR vs PQAP

NBFRDInnovator Nasdaq-100 Managed 10 Buffer ETF

PQAPBPGIM Nasdaq-100 Buffer 12 ETF - April

In short

NBFR Innovator's Nasdaq-100 buffer, minus the calendar. NBFR spreads its options across a laddered set of periods with a manager steering them, aiming to absorb roughly the first 10% to 14% of index losses.

PQAP A one-year cushion on the Nasdaq-100, with a bit more padding than the category norm: PQAP absorbs the first 12% of a QQQ drop over each period starting April 1, and charges 0.50% to do it.

Stated mandate

NBFR The Fund seeks capital appreciation through Nasdaq-100 equity exposure while using an actively managed, laddered options strategy to reduce volatility and protect approximately 10% to 14% of reference-asset losses.

PQAP The Fund seeks to match QQQ’s price return up to a predetermined cap while buffering the first 12% of QQQ losses over a one-year target outcome period.

Why people hold it

• NBFR Laddered by design: protection is staggered across overlapping option periods instead of hinging on one annual reset date, so entry timing matters less.
• Actively managed, not rules-on-rails: a manager runs the option ladder with a stated goal of damping volatility on Nasdaq-100 exposure.
• Fee sits at the middle of its Nasdaq-100 buffer peer group at 0.79%, the same sticker as Innovator's date-locked sibling QBUF.

• PQAP The buffer runs 12 percentage points deep, versus the 10% cushion on the Innovator Nasdaq-100 buffer fund (QBUF) sitting in the same peer group.pgim.com
• 0.50% a year undercuts the typical Nasdaq-100 buffer fund, including QBUF at 0.79%. In a strategy where the option budget sets your cap, fee drag matters.
• April is one of four start months PGIM runs on this same 12% QQQ recipe (January, April, July, October), so entry points can be staggered instead of bunched.pgim.com
• Mechanically clean build: FLEX options on QQQ itself, a stated one-year outcome period, and one of the stronger risk profiles among Nasdaq-100 buffer funds.

Worth knowing

• NBFR Cheaper routes to Nasdaq-100 buffering exist in the same cohort: PGIM's dated buffer funds charge 0.50% and Global X's QTR 0.25%.
• Launched in 2026, so the record is short, and it trades lightly next to the category's household names, which can mean wider spreads.
• The buffer is a slice, not a floor: roughly 10% to 14% of index declines. Losses past that pass through to shareholders.

• PQAP The upside cap is reset for each period and is unknown until it starts. Above it, QQQ's gains keep going without you.pgim.com
• The 12% buffer is measured before fees and expenses and applies to holders across a full period. Buy mid-period and your own cushion and cap differ from the headline terms.pgim.com
• Small and lightly traded next to the buffer giants, so spreads can be wider. It also launched in late 2024, giving it a short record.

Full NBFR profile⁠

Full PQAP profile⁠