PQOC vs QBUF

PQOCBPGIM Nasdaq-100 Buffer 12 ETF - October

QBUFCInnovator Nasdaq-100 10 Buffer ETF

In short

PQOC Twelve points of downside cushion on the Nasdaq-100, reset every October. PGIM buffers the first 12% of a one-year loss on the big Nasdaq-100 ETF's own shares and caps the upside in exchange, for 0.50% a year.

QBUF Buffer funds usually run on a 12-month clock. QBUF resets every quarter: a 10% downside buffer on the Nasdaq-100 and a fresh upside cap, four times a year.

Stated mandate

PQOC The Fund seeks to track the price return of the Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 up to a cap while buffering the first 12% of losses during the one-year Target Outcome Period.

QBUF The Fund seeks to replicate the performance of an ETF tracking the Nasdaq-100 Index over quarterly outcome periods, subject to a predefined upside cap and a 10% downside buffer.

Why people hold it

• PQOC Twelve points of cushion, not ten, and the fee is 0.50% against the 0.79% Innovator charges on its 10-point Nasdaq-100 buffer fund (QBUF).
• The reference is the shares of the Invesco QQQ Trust itself, not a custom index, so the thing being buffered is the Nasdaq-100 vehicle most investors already watch.
• One of four PGIM siblings on a quarterly calendar (PQJA starts in January, PQAP in April), so the October reset window is a choice, not a leftover.
• Priced below the typical shallow-buffer Nasdaq-100 fund, which matters in a structure where fees come straight out of a fixed pool of upside.

• QBUF Quarterly outcome periods. The 10% buffer and a new cap reset four times a year, so a fresh starting line is never more than three months out.
• The reference asset is the Invesco QQQ Trust itself, not a custom index, so the outcome is keyed to a Nasdaq-100 vehicle you can watch in real time.
• The 0.79% fee is the median for shallow-buffer Nasdaq-100 funds, and this one sits in the upper half of that peer group overall.

Worth knowing

• PQOC Upside is capped. A new ceiling gets set at the start of each October outcome period, and any Nasdaq-100 rally past it does not come through.
• The 12% buffer is designed for the full October-to-September period. Enter or exit mid-stream and you own the options at whatever they are worth that day.
• A small, thinly traded fund, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than on plain Nasdaq-100 funds.

• QBUF Downside protection is paid for with upside. The cap is reset at the start of each quarter from option pricing, so the next period's ceiling isn't known in advance.
• The 10% buffer runs from the period's start and sits before fees. Buy mid-quarter and your actual cushion and cap differ from the headline terms.
• Pricier than some cousins: the PGIM Nasdaq-100 buffer series runs 0.50%, QTR 0.25%. It also trades thinly, so limit orders earn their keep.

Full PQOC profile⁠

Full QBUF profile⁠