Which resets first, AAPR or ARLU?

AAPR ends its outcome period on Mar 31, 2028 and ARLU on Mar 31, 2027. New terms are set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, AAPR or ARLU?

AAPR charges 0.79% a year and ARLU charges 0.74%, so ARLU is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Buffer ETFs

AAPR vs ARLU: Cap, Buffer & Days Left

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As of Nov 4, 2026 ARLU can fall 12.1% before its buffer engages and AAPR 4.5%, and ARLU resets 366 days sooner.

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Net assets: $71m on Nov 4, 2026 for Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - Apr 2028, and $54m on Nov 3, 2026 for AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 Uncapped ETF - Apr.

AAPR on its own →ARLU on its own →

At a glance

4.5%

AAPR can fall this far before its buffer

12.1%

ARLU can fall this far before its buffer

10.6%

AAPR can still gain

uncapped

ARLU can still gain

AAPR At its cap

AAPR: reference +17.9% since period start, fund +4.2%; buffer Floor; cap +15.7%; At its cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

ARLU No cap

ARLU: reference +17.9% since period start, fund +12.8%; buffer 0 to −15; no cap; No cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

ARLU costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.5 points; AAPR is 1.3 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

AAPR vs ARLU: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
Measure	AAPR	ARLU
Return
Measure	AAPR	ARLU
Total return, 1 year	+7.2%	+7.7%
Drawdown
Measure	AAPR	ARLU
Index fall to the buffer	15.2%
Benchmark
Measure	AAPR	ARLU
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Cost and size
Measure	AAPR	ARLU
Expense ratio	0.79%	0.74%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026	$71m	$54m
Holdings
Measure	AAPR	ARLU
Holdings in common	not published

Method

Window by window

Window by window: AAPR vs ARLU: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
	Total return		Gap to the reference's price return
Window	AAPR	ARLU	AAPR	ARLU
3 months	+1.0%	−1.2%	+1.4 pts	−0.8 pts
6 months	+2.0%	+2.7%	−2.5 pts	−1.7 pts
1 year	+7.2%	+7.7%	−6.4 pts	−5.9 pts
Since launchAAPR Apr 2024 · ARLU Apr 2024	+21.0%	+29.5%	−25.8 pts	−17.3 pts

Each fund's gap is to its reference's price return, dividends left out: the basis the outcome period uses. Open this comparison in the app →

Side by side

AAPR Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - Apr 2028 · Absorbs the whole loss on SPY and caps the gain at 15.7%, over a period ending Mar 31, 2028 ARLU AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 Uncapped ETF - Apr · Absorbs the first 15% of loss on SPY and does not cap the gain, over a period ending Mar 31, 2027

Issuer Innovator AllianzIM

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 100% 15%

Outcome period Mar 31, 2026 to Mar 31, 2028 Apr 1, 2026 to Mar 31, 2027

Days left 513 147

Starting cap +15.7% uncapped

Can still gain 10.6% uncapped

Fall before buffer 4.5% 12.1%

Protection left, index points 100.0% of 100.0% 15.0% of 15.0%

Index return this period +17.9% +17.9%

Fund return this period +4.2% +12.8%

State today At cap Uncapped

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.74%

Net assets, AAPR as of Nov 4, 2026 and ARLU as of Nov 3, 2026 $71m $54m

As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

These are two different products. AAPR is a floor fund, which caps how far a holder can fall. ARLU is a buffer fund, which absorbs the first part of a fall and leaves everything below it with the holder.

AAPR is already at its cap, so more rise in the index adds nothing to it before the period ends.

They do not reset together. ARLU has 147 days of its period left and AAPR has 513, so the two are not the same bet on the same months.

Where each one stands today

ARLU resets first, on Mar 31, 2027, 147 days from now; AAPR runs to Mar 31, 2028, 513 days. A fall from here reaches AAPR’s buffer after 4.5% and ARLU’s after 12.1%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.

Alert

About each fund

AAPR

SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +15.7% for the period on Nov 4, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's own price can still drift up to about 10.6% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 4.5% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 15.2% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 100.0% of the 100.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 513 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Mar 31, 2028 the period ends and a new cap is set.

ARLU

This fund has no cap. It takes a share of any further rise in SPY. The fund's price can fall 12.1% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. Protection left, in index points: 15.0% of the 15.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 147 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Mar 31, 2027 the period ends and new terms are set.

Questions people ask

Which resets first, AAPR or ARLU?: AAPR ends its outcome period on Mar 31, 2028 and ARLU on Mar 31, 2027. New terms are set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, AAPR or ARLU?: AAPR charges 0.79% a year and ARLU charges 0.74%, so ARLU is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AAPR vs DDFA AAPR vs APRT AAPR vs ZAPR AAPR vs PBAP ARLU vs ZAPR ARLU vs APOC ARLU vs DDFA ARLU vs MARM

Where to next

SPY →All buffer ETFs ranked by the Downside Cover Score →How the scores are computed →AAPR on its own →ARLU on its own →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

Innovator page for AAPR ↗

ARLU filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

AllianzIM page for ARLU ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

ETFIQ calculates every number from each issuer’s published outcome-period terms. Buffer ETFs hold options on an index, not shares, so there is no holdings overlap to report.

Every number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, AAPR against ARLU, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/aapr-vs-arlu

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