Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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POCT vs VOO: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, POCT returned +10.7% to VOO's +13.7%, and VOO charges 0.03% to POCT's 0.79%.

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Net assets: $1.1bn on Oct 28, 2026 for Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - Oct, and $1.0tn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard S&P 500 ETF.

At a glance
+10.7%
POCT total return, 1 year
+13.7%
VOO total return, 1 year
0.79%
POCT expense ratio
0.03%
VOO expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VOO costs 0.76 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.0 points.

POCT vs VOO: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasurePOCTVOO
Return
Total return, 1 year+10.7%+13.7%
Drawdown
Index fall to the buffer1.2%
Fund price fall to the buffer1.1%
Benchmark
What it tracksSPYS&P 500 Index
The outcome period
Room to the cap14.4%
Buffer left, in index points15.0% of 15.0%
Days left in the period337
Period endsSep 30, 2027
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.79%0.03%
Net assets, POCT as of Oct 28, 2026 and VOO as of Sep 30, 2026$1.1bn$1.0tn
Holdings
Holdings in commonnot published
In the S&P 500, by weight100%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund39.1%

Method

Risk and return

Oct 12, 2018 to Oct 23, 2026 · 419 weekly returns
POCT VOO
Return
Total return edge VOO +102.1% +211.8%
Annualized edge VOO +9.1% +15.2%
Price return edge VOO +97.7% +175.5%
Risk
Volatility edge POCT 8.9% 18.3%
Max drawdown edge POCT −17.6% −31.8%
Downside capture 49.7% 99.9%
Beta 0.46 1.00
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge Tie 0.71 0.71
Sortino edge Tie 1.02 1.03
Treynor 0.137 0.134
Calmar edge POCT (slight) 0.52 0.48
Against the benchmark
Alpha +0.4% a year 0.0% a year
Alpha t-stat 0.36 0.51
Information ratio −0.64 0.02
Tracking error 10.3% 0.4%

Each against its own benchmark: POCT against SPY, Oct 12, 2018 to Oct 23, 2026; VOO against IVV, Sep 17, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

VOO returned more: +211.8% to +102.1%. POCT swung less: 8.9% to 18.3%. POCT fell less at its worst: −17.6% to −31.8%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured
Open ↓
Risk and return: POCT vs VOO: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasurePOCTVOOEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+102.1%+211.8%VOOPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+9.1%+15.2%VOOTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return+97.7%+175.5%VOOPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility8.9%18.3%POCTSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation6.2%12.7%POCTLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−17.6%−31.8%POCTDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture33.1%99.8%Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture49.7%99.9%Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta0.461.00Not an edgeHow far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared0.891.00Not an edgeShare of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.710.71TieReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino1.021.03TieReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor0.1370.134Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar0.520.48POCT (slight)Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
BenchmarkSPYIVVThe ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha+0.4% a year0.0% a yearNot significantYearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat0.360.51Not an edgeHow sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range−1.7% to +2.4%−0.1% to +0.2%Includes zeroThe 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio−0.640.02Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error10.3%0.4%Not an edgeHow far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 419 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Side by side

POCT Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - Oct VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
Where it sits Buffer ETF Stock ETF
What it is Defined outcome, 15% on SPY Tracks the S&P 500
Total return, 1 year +10.7% +13.7%
Its benchmark over the same days +12.4% (SPY) +13.7% (IVV)
Gap to its benchmark −1.7 pts vs SPY 0.0 pts vs IVV
Expense ratio 0.79% 0.03%
Holdings not read by ETFIQ 507
Net assets, POCT as of Oct 28, 2026 and VOO as of Sep 30, 2026 $1.1bn $1.0tn

POCT and VOO on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-974E1EF593

POCT and VOO do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

  1. What each follows. POCT follows SPY and VOO follows S&P 500 Index.
  2. One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 POCT returned +10.7% and VOO +13.7% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 3.0 points.
  3. Cost. POCT charges 0.79% of assets a year and VOO 0.03%, a gap of 0.76 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund
POCT

From its price on Oct 28, 2026, the fund can gain about 14.4% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 1.1% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 1.2% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 15.0% of the 15.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 337 days remained on Oct 28, 2026. On Sep 30, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

VOO

VOO tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.7% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 507 positions, with the top ten at 39.1%.

Questions people ask

Are POCT and VOO in the same category?
POCT is a buffer ETF and VOO is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
Which returned more over the last year, POCT or VOO?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, POCT returned +10.7% and VOO +13.7%.
Which is cheaper, POCT or VOO?
VOO is cheaper, by 0.76 percentage points a year. That is about $76 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
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ETFIQ, POCT against VOO, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/poct-vs-voo

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.