Which resets first, AOCT or OCTU?

AOCT ends its outcome period on Sep 30, 2028 and OCTU on Sep 30, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, AOCT or OCTU?

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

AOCT vs OCTU: which one stands where?

As of Oct 2, 2026 OCTU can fall 1.4% before its buffer engages and AOCT 0.5%, and OCTU resets 366 days sooner. Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - Oct 2028 and AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 Uncapped ETF - Oct.

OCTU costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.4 points; OCTU is 1.2 times larger.

	AOCT	OCTU
Expense ratio	0.79%	0.74%
Net assets	$47m	$58m
Total return, 1 year	+5.9%	+10.3%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published

0.5%

AOCT can fall this far before its buffer

1.4%

OCTU can fall this far before its buffer

20.8%

AOCT can still gain

uncapped

OCTU can still gain

AOCTFull floor

AOCT: reference +0.9% since period start, fund +0.5%; buffer Floor; cap +21.3%; Full floor.

OCTUNo cap

OCTU: reference +0.9% since period start, fund +0.7%; buffer 0 to −15; no cap; No cap.

These are two different products. AOCT is a floor fund, which caps how far a holder can fall. OCTU 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. OCTU has 363 days of its period left and AOCT has 729, so the two are not the same bet on the same months.

Where each one stands today

OCTU resets first, on Sep 30, 2027, 363 days from now; AOCT runs to Sep 30, 2028, 729 days. A fall from here reaches AOCT’s buffer after 0.5% and OCTU’s after 1.4%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.

Every figure is ETFIQ’s own, from the issuer’s published outcome-period terms. A buffer ETF holds FLEX options on its reference index rather than shares, so there is no holdings overlap between two of them to report.

Performance, window by window

	Total return		Gap to the reference
Window	AOCT	OCTU	AOCT	OCTU
3 months	+1.7%	+2.4%	−1.9 pts	−1.2 pts
6 months	+4.9%	+11.7%	−13.0 pts	−6.3 pts
1 year	+5.9%	+10.3%	−10.3 pts	−5.9 pts

AOCT and OCTU over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →

On the same fields

AOCT

Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - Oct 2028 · Absorbs the whole loss on SPY and caps the gain at 21.3%, over a period ending Sep 30, 2028

OCTU

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

Issuer Innovator AllianzIM

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 100% 15%

Outcome period Sep 30, 2026 to Sep 30, 2028 Oct 1, 2026 to Sep 30, 2027

Days left 729 363

Starting cap +21.3% uncapped

Can still gain 20.8% uncapped

Fall before buffer 0.5% 1.4%

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

Index return this period +0.9% +0.9%

Fund return this period +0.5% +0.7%

State today Open Uncapped

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.74%

Net assets $47m $58m

AOCT and OCTU on the same fields, as of Oct 2, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

AOCT in plain words

From its price on Oct 2, 2026, the fund can gain about 20.8% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 0.5% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 0.9% 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. 729 days remained on Oct 2, 2026. On Sep 30, 2028 the period ends and a new cap is set.

OCTU in plain words

This fund has no cap. It takes a share of any further rise in SPY. The fund's price can fall 1.4% 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. 363 days remained on Oct 2, 2026. On Sep 30, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

Questions people ask

Which resets first, AOCT or OCTU?: AOCT ends its outcome period on Sep 30, 2028 and OCTU on Sep 30, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, AOCT or OCTU?: AOCT charges 0.79% a year and OCTU charges 0.74%, so OCTU is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AOCT vs OCTT AOCT vs PMOC AOCT vs POCT AOCT vs PQV OCTU vs APOC OCTU vs BOCT OCTU vs CPSO OCTU vs CPST

SPY →AOCT on its own →OCTU on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

Innovator page for AOCT ↗OCTU filings on SEC EDGAR ↗AllianzIM page for OCTU ↗

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page

ETFIQ, AOCT against OCTU, data as of Oct 2, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/aoct-vs-octu

Open data

Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology.