Which resets first, ARLU or XBAP?

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

Which is cheaper, ARLU or XBAP?

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

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ARLU vs XBAP: Cap, Buffer & Days Left

As of Oct 9, 2026 ARLU can fall 13.6% before its buffer engages and XBAP 9.8%. Net assets: $56m on Oct 8, 2026 for AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 Uncapped ETF - Apr, and $129m on Oct 9, 2026 for Innovator U.S. Equity Accelerated 9 Buffer ETF - Apr.

ARLU costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.1 points; XBAP is 2.3 times larger.

	ARLU	XBAP
Expense ratio	0.74%	0.79%
Net assets, as of Oct 8, 2026	$56m	$128m
Total return, 1 year	+10.0%	+14.1%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published
Index fall to the buffer	16.5%

13.6%

ARLU can fall this far before its buffer

9.8%

XBAP can fall this far before its buffer

uncapped

ARLU can still gain

3.8%

XBAP can still gain

ARLUNo cap

ARLU: reference +19.7% since period start, fund +14.7%; buffer 0 to −15; no cap; No cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.

XBAPAt its cap

XBAP: reference +19.7% since period start, fund +10.3%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +15.0%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.

These are two different products. XBAP 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.

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

Where each one stands today

ARLU resets first, on Mar 31, 2027, 173 days from now; XBAP runs to Mar 31, 2027, 173 days. A fall from here reaches ARLU’s buffer after 13.6% and XBAP’s after 9.8%. 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	ARLU	XBAP	ARLU	XBAP
3 months	+2.3%	+2.6%	−0.9 pts	−0.6 pts
6 months	+11.4%	+7.6%	−3.1 pts	−7.0 pts
1 year	+10.0%	+14.1%	−6.0 pts	−1.9 pts
3 years	not published	+48.4%	not published	−30.8 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

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

XBAP

Innovator U.S. Equity Accelerated 9 Buffer ETF - Apr · Absorbs the first 9% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 15.0%, over a period ending Mar 31, 2027

Issuer AllianzIM Innovator

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 15% 9%

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

Days left 173 173

Starting cap uncapped +15.0%

Can still gain uncapped 3.8%

Fall before buffer 13.6% 9.8%

Protection left, index points 15.0% of 15.0% 9.0% of 9.0%

Index return this period +19.7% +19.7%

Fund return this period +14.7% +10.3%

State today Uncapped At cap

Expense ratio 0.74% 0.79%

Net assets, ARLU as of Oct 8, 2026 and XBAP as of Oct 9, 2026 $56m $129m

As of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

ARLU in plain words

This fund has no cap. It takes a share of any further rise in SPY. The fund's price can fall 13.6% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 16.5% 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. 173 days remained on Oct 9, 2026. On Mar 31, 2027 the period ends and new terms are set.

XBAP in plain words

SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +15.0% for the period on Oct 9, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's own price can still drift up to about 3.8% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 9.8% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. Protection left, in index points: 9.0% of the 9.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. On Mar 31, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

Questions people ask

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

Other comparisons

ARLU vs UAPR ARLU vs DDFA ARLU vs GMAR ARLU vs PBAP XBAP vs CPSP XBAP vs FLAO XBAP vs PAPR XBAP vs FMAR

SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust →All buffer ETFs ranked by the Downside Cover Score →How the scores are computed →ARLU on its own →XBAP on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

ARLU filings on SEC EDGAR ↗AllianzIM page for ARLU ↗XBAP filings on SEC EDGAR ↗Innovator page for XBAP ↗

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, ARLU against XBAP, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/arlu-vs-xbap

Open data

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