Which resets first, BALT or JANU?

BALT ends its outcome period on Dec 31, 2026 and JANU on Dec 31, 2026. A new cap is 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.

BALT vs JANU: which one stands where?

As of Oct 1, 2026 JANU can fall 8.3% before its buffer engages and BALT 0.0%. Innovator Defined Wealth Shield ETF - Quarterly and AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 Uncapped ETF - Jan.

0.0%

BALT can fall this far before its buffer

8.3%

JANU can fall this far before its buffer

2.4%

BALT can still gain

uncapped

JANU can still gain

BALTBetween buffer and cap

BALT: reference 0.0% since period start, fund 0.0%; buffer 0 to −20; cap +2.4%; Between buffer and cap.

JANUNo cap

JANU: reference +11.8% since period start, fund +8.2%; buffer 0 to −15; no cap; No cap.

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 52

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

A percentile among the 293 buffer ETFs with a live outcome period. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All buffer ETFs ranked by it → How it is computed →

Where each one stands today

BALT resets first, on Dec 31, 2026, 92 days from now; JANU runs to Dec 31, 2026, 92 days. A fall from here reaches BALT’s buffer after 0.0% and JANU’s after 8.3%. 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	BALT	JANU	BALT	JANU
3 months	+2.0%	+1.4%	−0.6 pts	−1.1 pts
6 months	+4.3%	+11.0%	−12.7 pts	−5.9 pts
1 year	+6.5%	+10.2%	−9.2 pts	−5.5 pts
3 years	+25.7%	not published	−59.3 pts	not published

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

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 92 92

Starting cap +2.4% uncapped

Can still gain 2.4% uncapped

Fall before buffer 0.0% 8.3%

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

Index return this period 0.0% +11.8%

Fund return this period 0.0% +8.2%

State today Open Uncapped

Expense ratio 0.69% 0.74%

Net assets $3.0bn $78m

BALT and JANU on the same fields, as of Oct 1, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

BALT in plain words

From its price on Oct 1, 2026, the fund can gain about 2.4% more before it reaches its cap. Protection left, in index points: 20.0% of the 20.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 92 days remained on Oct 1, 2026. On Dec 31, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.

JANU in plain words

This fund has no cap. It takes a share of any further rise in SPY. The fund's price can fall 8.3% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 10.6% 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.

Questions people ask

Which resets first, BALT or JANU?: BALT ends its outcome period on Dec 31, 2026 and JANU on Dec 31, 2026. A new cap is 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 DDEC BALT vs DDFJ BALT vs DDFO BALT vs DDSQ JANU vs PQXX JANU vs QBSF JANU vs QBSV JANU vs SIXJ

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. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page

ETFIQ, BALT against JANU, data as of Oct 1, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/balt-vs-janu

Open data

Free to use with attribution. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology.