QFLR vs SFLR

QFLRCInnovator Nasdaq-100 Managed Floor ETF

SFLRCInnovator Equity Managed Floor ETF

In short

QFLR Most Nasdaq-100 downside plays lock you into a 12-month outcome period with a reset date. QFLR skips the calendar: about 50 large-cap stocks with a ladder of put options underneath, run by a manager rather than a fixed series.

SFLR Most protected-equity funds run on a calendar: show up on reset day or take what's left. SFLR ladders one-year options so the hedge is always rolling, and sells short-dated calls to pay for it, on top of a basket of US large caps.

Stated mandate

QFLR The Fund seeks capital appreciation through participation in U.S. large-capitalization companies represented by the Nasdaq-100 Index while limiting potential maximum losses. It uses a hedging strategy with laddered put options and short-dated call sales.

SFLR The fund seeks risk-managed exposure to U.S. large-cap companies through a hedging strategy. It uses laddered one-year Flex Options and systematic short-dated call selling to pursue equity-market upside while mitigating losses.

Why people hold it

• QFLR The hedge rides a ladder of puts instead of a single 12-month outcome period, so there is no reset date to time and no waiting for the next series to open.
• It owns roughly 50 U.S. large caps directly rather than options on another fund, with the put ladder and call writing layered on top.
• For a niche hedged strategy, it changes hands easily: one of the smoother names in this corner of the market to get in and out of.

• SFLR The ladder is the whole idea: staggered one-year FLEX options keep the hedge rolling, so there is no single outcome-period start date to time your entry around.innovatoretfs.com
• You own the shares, not a synthetic stand-in. Roughly 200 US large caps sit underneath, referenced to the Solactive GBS United States 500 Index, with options layered on top.innovatoretfs.com
• Systematic call selling funds the hedge instead of a fixed upfront drag, and the fund makes distributions on a quarterly schedule.innovatoretfs.com
• Live since 2022 and one of the larger funds in the floor-and-protection aisle, which shows up as steady day-to-day tradability. Standing sits in the upper half of that peer group.

Worth knowing

• QFLR Fee is 0.89% a year, above the laddered and structured-protection options in its group (PBQQ at 0.50%, CPNS and CPNJ at 0.69%).
• The floor is financed by selling short-dated calls, so a fast Nasdaq-100 rally gets clipped. Upside is the currency here.
• The mandate is to limit maximum losses, not erase them, and the manager sets the hedge. No published cap or buffer to check before you buy.

• SFLR Those calls get paid for somewhere: upside in a fast rally is trimmed. This is a smoother ride than the index, not a full share of it.innovatoretfs.com
• 0.89% a year lands at the floor cohort's median, not the front of it. CPRY, CPRJ and CPRO run 0.69%, FLJJ 0.74%.
• The floor is an objective pursued with options, not a guarantee, and the record since the 2022 launch is short by full-market-cycle standards.

Full QFLR profile⁠

Full SFLR profile⁠