AJAN vs JANW: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Oct 13, 2026 JANW can fall 7.9% before its buffer engages and AJAN 3.9%, and JANW resets 365 days sooner. Net assets on Oct 13, 2026: $42m for Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - Jan 2028 and $360m for AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer20 ETF - Jan.
JANW costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.6 points; JANW is 8.5 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| AJAN | JANW | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.79% | 0.74% |
| Net assets | $42m | $360m |
| Total return, 1 year | +4.5% | +10.1% |
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| Index fall to the buffer | 12.3% | |
AJAN: reference +14.1% since period start, fund +3.4%; buffer Floor; cap +13.3%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 13, 2026.
Figures to Oct 13, 2026.
JANW: reference +14.1% since period start, fund +7.7%; buffer 0 to −20; cap +10.5%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 13, 2026.
JANW: reference +14.1% since period start, fund +7.7%; buffer 0 to −20; cap +10.5%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 13, 2026.
These are two different products. AJAN is a floor fund, which caps how far a holder can fall. JANW is a buffer fund, which absorbs the first part of a fall and leaves everything below it with the holder.
Both are already at their cap, so neither gains from more rise in the index before the period ends.
They do not reset together. JANW has 79 days of its period left and AJAN has 444, so the two are not the same bet on the same months.
Where each one stands today
JANW resets first, on Dec 31, 2026, 79 days from now; AJAN runs to Dec 31, 2027, 444 days. AJAN can still gain 9.0% before its cap, JANW 1.9%. A fall from here reaches AJAN’s buffer after 3.9% and JANW’s after 7.9%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.
Performance, window by window
| Total return | Gap to the reference's price return | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | AJAN | JANW | AJAN | JANW |
| 3 months | +0.9% | +2.4% | −2.5 pts | −1.1 pts |
| 6 months | +2.5% | +6.0% | −9.6 pts | −6.1 pts |
| 1 year | +4.5% | +10.1% | −12.9 pts | −7.2 pts |
| 3 years | not published | +37.2% | not published | −43.1 pts |
| Since launch Not the same days: AJAN Jan 2024 · JANW Jan 2021 | +18.1% | +60.0% | −46.5 pts | −51.0 pts |
Each fund's gap is to its reference's price return, dividends left out: the basis the outcome period uses. Source: ETFIQ. Open this comparison in the app →
On the same fields
As of Oct 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
About AJAN
SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +13.3% for the period on Oct 13, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's own price can still drift up to about 9.0% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 3.9% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 12.3% 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. 444 days remained on Oct 13, 2026. On Dec 31, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
About JANW
SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +10.5% for the period on Oct 13, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's own price can still drift up to about 1.9% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 7.9% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. Protection left, in index points: 20.0% of the 20.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 79 days remained on Oct 13, 2026. On Dec 31, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.
Questions people ask
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
ETFIQ calculates every figure 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 figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.
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ETFIQ, AJAN against JANW, data as of Oct 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/ajan-vs-janw
ETFIQ. (Oct 13, 2026). AJAN against JANW. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/ajan-vs-janw
[AJAN against JANW (ETFIQ, Oct 13, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/ajan-vs-janw)
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