Which resets first, BALT or JANU?

BALT ends its outcome period on Dec 31, 2026 and JANU on Dec 31, 2026. New terms are set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, BALT or JANU?

BALT charges 0.69% a year and JANU charges 0.74%, so BALT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Open in the app Compare their flows Ask IQ about these two funds

BALT vs JANU: Cap, Buffer & Days Left

As of Oct 13, 2026 JANU can fall 9.8% before its buffer engages and BALT 0.5%. Net assets on Oct 12, 2026: $3.1bn for Innovator Defined Wealth Shield ETF - Quarterly and $80m for AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 Uncapped ETF - Jan.

BALT costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 6.8 points; BALT is far larger, $3.1bn against $80m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

BALT vs JANU: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
	BALT	JANU
Expense ratio	0.69%	0.74%
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026	$3.1bn	$80m
Total return, 1 year	+7.2%	+14.0%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published
Index fall to the buffer	1.9%	12.3%

0.5%

BALT can fall this far before its buffer

9.8%

JANU can fall this far before its buffer

1.9%

BALT can still gain

uncapped

JANU can still gain

BALTBetween buffer and cap

BALT: reference +1.9% since period start, fund +0.5%; buffer 0 to −20; cap +2.4%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 13, 2026.

JANUNo cap

JANU: reference +14.0% since period start, fund +10.0%; buffer 0 to −15; no cap; No cap. Figures to Oct 13, 2026.

ETFIQ Downside Cover Score · BALT scores higherIf the market falls into a bear market from here, how much does the buffer absorb?

BALT 99.8

JANU 46.6

0.2, the lowest in this set99.8, the highest

A percentile among the 292 buffer ETFs on stocks with a live outcome period. Today's position against one 20% fall; it ignores smaller falls, and stock buffers are never ranked against bond or commodity ones. All buffer ETFs ranked by it → How it is computed →

Where each one stands today

BALT resets first, on Dec 31, 2026, 79 days from now; JANU runs to Dec 31, 2026, 79 days. A fall from here reaches BALT’s buffer after 0.5% and JANU’s after 9.8%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.

Performance, window by window

Performance, window by window: BALT vs JANU: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
	Total return		Gap to the reference's price return
Window	BALT	JANU	BALT	JANU
3 months	+2.0%	+2.7%	−1.9 pts	−1.1 pts
6 months	+3.7%	+9.8%	−9.7 pts	−3.6 pts
1 year	+7.2%	+14.0%	−11.9 pts	−5.2 pts
3 years	+25.6%	not published	−54.8 pts	not published
Since launch Not the same days: BALT Jul 2021 · JANU Jan 2025	+36.3%	+23.9%	−44.5 pts	−9.2 pts

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

On the same fields

BALT

Innovator Defined Wealth Shield ETF - Quarterly · Absorbs the first 20% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 2.4%, over a period ending Dec 31, 2026

JANU

AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 Uncapped ETF - Jan · Absorbs the first 15% of loss on SPY and does not cap the gain, over a period ending Dec 31, 2026

Issuer Innovator AllianzIM

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 20% 15%

Outcome period Sep 30, 2026 to Dec 31, 2026 Jan 1, 2026 to Dec 31, 2026

Days left 79 79

Starting cap +2.4% uncapped

Can still gain 1.9% uncapped

Fall before buffer 0.5% 9.8%

Protection left, index points 20.0% of 20.0% 15.0% of 15.0%

Index return this period +1.9% +14.0%

Fund return this period +0.5% +10.0%

State today Open Uncapped

Expense ratio 0.69% 0.74%

Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026 $3.1bn $80m

As of Oct 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

About BALT

From its price on Oct 13, 2026, the fund can gain about 1.9% 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 1.9% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. 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.

About JANU

This fund has no cap. It takes a share of any further rise in SPY. The fund's price can fall 9.8% 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: 15.0% of the 15.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. On Dec 31, 2026 the period ends and new terms are set.

Questions people ask

Which resets first, BALT or JANU?: BALT ends its outcome period on Dec 31, 2026 and JANU on Dec 31, 2026. New terms are set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, BALT or JANU?: BALT charges 0.69% a year and JANU charges 0.74%, so BALT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BALT vs XSEP BALT vs ZJAN BALT vs SIXO BALT vs DDFO JANU vs PJAN JANU vs FDEC JANU vs ZALT JANU vs DDEC

SPY →BALT on its own →JANU on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

Innovator page for BALT ↗JANU filings on SEC EDGAR ↗AllianzIM page for JANU ↗

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

It is a place in a set, not a rating or a recommendation.

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 pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, BALT against JANU, data as of Oct 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/balt-vs-janu

Open data

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