Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
BALT vs OCTU: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Nov 4, 2026 OCTU can fall 1.0% before its buffer engages and BALT 0.6%, and BALT resets 273 days sooner.
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Net assets: $3.3bn on Nov 4, 2026 for Innovator Defined Wealth Shield ETF - Quarterly, and $60m on Nov 3, 2026 for AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 Uncapped ETF - Oct.
BALT: reference +0.5% since period start, fund +0.6%; buffer 0 to −20; cap +2.4%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
BALT: reference +0.5% since period start, fund +0.6%; buffer 0 to −20; cap +2.4%; Between buffer and cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.OCTU: reference +0.5% since period start, fund +0.3%; buffer 0 to −15; no cap; No cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
OCTU: reference +0.5% since period start, fund +0.3%; buffer 0 to −15; no cap; No cap. Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
BALT costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.7 points; BALT is far larger, $3.2bn against $60m.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | BALT | OCTU |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +6.4% | +9.1% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 0.5% | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.69% | 0.74% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $3.2bn | $60m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
How much of a bear-market fall the buffer would absorb from today's level, ranked against 292 buffer ETFs on stocks with a live outcome period. 100 is best. How it is computed
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 →
Window by window
| Total return | Gap to the reference's price return | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | BALT | OCTU | BALT | OCTU |
| 3 months | +1.3% | −1.1% | +1.7 pts | −0.7 pts |
| 6 months | +3.2% | +2.8% | −1.3 pts | −1.7 pts |
| 1 year | +6.4% | +9.1% | −7.1 pts | −4.5 pts |
| 3 years | +25.4% | – | −51.0 pts | – |
| Since launchNot the same days: BALT Jul 2021 · OCTU Oct 2024 | +36.5% | +24.2% | −41.7 pts | −10.7 pts |
Each fund's gap is to its reference's price return, dividends left out: the basis the outcome period uses. – means no data for this window. Open this comparison in the app →
Side by side
As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
They do not reset together. BALT has 57 days of its period left and OCTU has 330, so the two are not the same bet on the same months.
Where each one stands today
BALT resets first, on Dec 31, 2026, 57 days from now; OCTU runs to Sep 30, 2027, 330 days. A fall from here reaches BALT’s buffer after 0.6% and OCTU’s after 1.0%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.
BALT
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 1.8% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 0.6% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 0.5% 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. 57 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Dec 31, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.
OCTU
This fund has no cap. It takes a share of any further rise in SPY. The fund's price can fall 1.0% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. Protection left, in index points: 15.0% of the 15.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 330 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Sep 30, 2027 the period ends and new terms are set.
Questions people ask
Links are sources, not endorsements. 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 number 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 number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.
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ETFIQ, BALT against OCTU, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/balt-vs-octu
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). BALT against OCTU. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/balt-vs-octu
[BALT against OCTU (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/balt-vs-octu)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.