Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
AJAN vs JANU: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Nov 4, 2026 JANU can fall 8.4% before its buffer engages and AJAN 4.0%, and JANU resets 365 days sooner.
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Net assets: $43m on Nov 4, 2026 for Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - Jan 2028, and $77m on Nov 3, 2026 for AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 Uncapped ETF - Jan.
AJAN: reference +12.4% since period start, fund +3.5%; buffer Floor; cap +13.3%; Full floor. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
Data to Nov 4, 2026.JANU: reference +12.4% since period start, fund +8.3%; buffer 0 to −15; no cap; No cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
JANU: reference +12.4% since period start, fund +8.3%; buffer 0 to −15; no cap; No cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
JANU costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.9 points; JANU is 1.8 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | AJAN | JANU |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +4.3% | +9.2% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 11.0% | 11.1% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.79% | 0.74% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $42m | $77m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
Risk and return
Jan 10, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026 · 94 weekly returns · each against SPYFrom Jan 2025 to Oct 2026, JANU returned more: +21.0% to +9.5%. AJAN swung less: 3.3% to 10.4%. AJAN fell less at its worst: −3.5% to −10.3%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | AJAN | JANU | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +9.5% | +21.0% | JANU | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +5.1% | +11.1% | JANU | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | +9.5% | +21.0% | JANU | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 3.3% | 10.4% | AJAN | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 2.4% | 6.9% | AJAN | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −3.5% | −10.3% | AJAN | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 13.3% | 63.4% | 100.0% | JANU | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 17.9% | 81.4% | 100.0% | AJAN | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.20 | 0.67 | 1.00 | AJAN lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.82 | 0.94 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 0.32 | 0.68 | JANU | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | 0.44 | 1.03 | JANU | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | 0.054 | 0.106 | 0.128 | JANU | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 1.48 | 1.07 | AJAN | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. | |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | SPY | SPY | SPY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −1.5% a year | −1.5% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −1.39 | −0.81 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −3.6% to +0.6% | −5.2% to +2.2% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −0.97 | −1.03 | AJAN (slight) | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 12.2% | 5.6% | 0.0% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 94 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Window by window
| Total return | Gap to the reference's price return | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | AJAN | JANU | AJAN | JANU |
| 3 months | +0.8% | −1.3% | +1.2 pts | −0.9 pts |
| 6 months | +1.6% | +2.3% | −2.9 pts | −2.2 pts |
| 1 year | +4.3% | +9.2% | −9.3 pts | −4.4 pts |
| Since launchNot the same days: AJAN Jan 2024 · JANU Jan 2025 | +18.3% | +21.9% | −44.0 pts | −9.3 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
As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
These are two different products. AJAN is a floor fund, which caps how far a holder can fall. JANU is a buffer fund, which absorbs the first part of a fall and leaves everything below it with the holder.
They do not reset together. JANU has 57 days of its period left and AJAN has 422, so the two are not the same bet on the same months.
Where each one stands today
JANU resets first, on Dec 31, 2026, 57 days from now; AJAN runs to Dec 31, 2027, 422 days. A fall from here reaches AJAN’s buffer after 4.0% and JANU’s after 8.4%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.
Client brief:
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AJAN
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 8.8% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 4.0% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 11.0% 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. 422 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Dec 31, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
JANU
This fund has no cap. It takes a share of any further rise in SPY. The fund's price can fall 8.4% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 11.1% 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. 57 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Dec 31, 2026 the period ends and new terms are set.
Questions people ask
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, AJAN against JANU, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/ajan-vs-janu
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). AJAN against JANU. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/ajan-vs-janu
[AJAN against JANU (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/ajan-vs-janu)
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