Which resets first, AJUL or JULU?

AJUL ends its outcome period on Jun 30, 2028 and JULU on Jun 30, 2027. New terms are set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, AJUL or JULU?

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

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AJUL vs JULU: Cap, Buffer & Days Left

As of Oct 9, 2026 JULU can fall 3.2% before its buffer engages and AJUL 1.6%, and JULU resets 366 days sooner. Net assets: $98m on Oct 9, 2026 for Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - Jul 2028, and $81m on Oct 8, 2026 for AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 Uncapped ETF - Jul.

JULU costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.6 points; AJUL is 1.2 times larger.

	AJUL	JULU
Expense ratio	0.79%	0.74%
Net assets, as of Oct 8, 2026	$98m	$81m
Total return, 1 year	+6.2%	+11.8%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published
Index fall to the buffer	4.1%

1.6%

AJUL can fall this far before its buffer

3.2%

JULU can fall this far before its buffer

16.5%

AJUL can still gain

uncapped

JULU can still gain

AJULFull floor

AJUL: reference +4.3% since period start, fund +1.4%; buffer Floor; cap +18.3%; Full floor. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.

Figures to Oct 9, 2026.

JULUNo cap

JULU: reference +4.3% since period start, fund +2.6%; buffer 0 to −15; no cap; No cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.

These are two different products. AJUL is a floor fund, which caps how far a holder can fall. JULU 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. JULU has 264 days of its period left and AJUL has 630, so the two are not the same bet on the same months.

Where each one stands today

JULU resets first, on Jun 30, 2027, 264 days from now; AJUL runs to Jun 30, 2028, 630 days. A fall from here reaches AJUL’s buffer after 1.6% and JULU’s after 3.2%. 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	AJUL	JULU	AJUL	JULU
3 months	+1.1%	+1.8%	−2.0 pts	−1.3 pts
6 months	+3.4%	+11.9%	−11.2 pts	−2.6 pts
1 year	+6.2%	+11.8%	−9.8 pts	−4.2 pts

Each fund's gap is to its reference's price return, dividends left out: the basis the outcome period uses. Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →

On the same fields

AJUL

Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - Jul 2028 · Absorbs the whole loss on SPY and caps the gain at 18.3%, over a period ending Jun 30, 2028

JULU

AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 Uncapped ETF - Jul · Absorbs the first 15% of loss on SPY and does not cap the gain, over a period ending Jun 30, 2027

Issuer Innovator AllianzIM

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 100% 15%

Outcome period Jun 30, 2026 to Jun 30, 2028 Jul 1, 2026 to Jun 30, 2027

Days left 630 264

Starting cap +18.3% uncapped

Can still gain 16.5% uncapped

Fall before buffer 1.6% 3.2%

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

Index return this period +4.3% +4.3%

Fund return this period +1.4% +2.6%

State today Open Uncapped

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.74%

Net assets, AJUL as of Oct 9, 2026 and JULU as of Oct 8, 2026 $98m $81m

As of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

AJUL in plain words

From its price on Oct 9, 2026, the fund can gain about 16.5% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 1.6% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 4.1% 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. 630 days remained on Oct 9, 2026. On Jun 30, 2028 the period ends and a new cap is set.

JULU in plain words

This fund has no cap. It takes a share of any further rise in SPY. The fund's price can fall 3.2% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. Protection left, in index points: 15.0% of the 15.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 264 days remained on Oct 9, 2026. On Jun 30, 2027 the period ends and new terms are set.

Questions people ask

Which resets first, AJUL or JULU?: AJUL ends its outcome period on Jun 30, 2028 and JULU on Jun 30, 2027. New terms are set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, AJUL or JULU?: AJUL charges 0.79% a year and JULU charges 0.74%, so JULU is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AJUL vs JULT AJUL vs XJUN AJUL vs DDFL AJUL vs ZJUL JULU vs TJUL JULU vs XBJL JULU vs PBJL JULU vs XJUN

SPY →All buffer ETFs ranked by the Downside Cover Score →How the scores are computed →AJUL on its own →JULU on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

Innovator page for AJUL ↗JULU filings on SEC EDGAR ↗AllianzIM page for JULU ↗

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.

Cite this page

ETFIQ, AJUL against JULU, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/ajul-vs-julu

Open data

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