Which has more room to gain, BALT or PQV?

From their prices on Oct 2, 2026, BALT can gain about 2.3% before its cap and PQV about 4.5%, so PQV has more room left this period.

Which resets first, BALT or PQV?

BALT ends its outcome period on Dec 31, 2026 and PQV on Dec 31, 2026. A new cap is set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, BALT or PQV?

BALT charges 0.69% a year and PQV charges 0.50%, so PQV is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Share on X Download as PDF Open live

BALT vs PQV: which one stands where?

As of Oct 2, 2026 PQV can fall 0.6% before its buffer engages and BALT 0.2%. Innovator Defined Wealth Shield ETF - Quarterly and PGIM S&P 500 Quarterly Buffer 5 ETF.

PQV costs 0.19 points a year less; BALT is 1333.2 times larger.

	BALT	PQV
Expense ratio	0.69%	0.50%
Net assets	$3.1bn	$2m
Total return, 1 year	+6.5%	not published
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published

0.2%

BALT can fall this far before its buffer

0.6%

PQV can fall this far before its buffer

2.3%

BALT can still gain

4.5%

PQV can still gain

BALTBetween buffer and cap

BALT: reference +0.9% since period start, fund +0.2%; buffer 0 to −20; cap +2.4%; Between buffer and cap.

PQVBetween buffer and cap

PQV: reference +0.9% since period start, fund +0.5%; buffer 0 to −5; cap +5.1%; Between buffer and 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

PQV 1.2

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

A percentile among the 294 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, 90 days from now; PQV runs to Dec 31, 2026, 90 days. BALT can still gain 2.3% before its cap, PQV 4.5%. A fall from here reaches BALT’s buffer after 0.2% and PQV’s after 0.6%. 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	PQV	BALT	PQV
3 months	+2.1%	+2.6%	−1.5 pts	−1.0 pts
6 months	+4.4%	not published	−13.6 pts	not published
1 year	+6.5%	not published	−9.7 pts	not published
3 years	+26.1%	not published	−63.2 pts	not published

BALT and PQV 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

PQV

PGIM S&P 500 Quarterly Buffer 5 ETF · Absorbs the first 5% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 5.1%, over a period ending Dec 31, 2026

Issuer Innovator PGIM

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 20% 5%

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

Days left 90 90

Starting cap +2.4% +5.1%

Can still gain 2.3% 4.5%

Fall before buffer 0.2% 0.6%

Protection left, index points 20.0% of 20.0% 5.0% of 5.0%

Index return this period +0.9% +0.9%

Fund return this period +0.2% +0.5%

State today Open Open

Expense ratio 0.69% 0.50%

Net assets $3.1bn $2m

BALT and PQV on the same fields, as of Oct 2, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

BALT in plain words

From its price on Oct 2, 2026, the fund can gain about 2.3% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 0.2% 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: 20.0% of the 20.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 90 days remained on Oct 2, 2026. On Dec 31, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.

PQV in plain words

From its price on Oct 2, 2026, the fund can gain about 4.5% 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 figure. Protection left, in index points: 5.0% of the 5.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level.

Questions people ask

Which has more room to gain, BALT or PQV?: From their prices on Oct 2, 2026, BALT can gain about 2.3% before its cap and PQV about 4.5%, so PQV has more room left this period.
Which resets first, BALT or PQV?: BALT ends its outcome period on Dec 31, 2026 and PQV on Dec 31, 2026. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, BALT or PQV?: BALT charges 0.69% a year and PQV charges 0.50%, so PQV is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BALT vs SIXJ BALT vs SIXO BALT vs SQMX BALT vs TJAN PQV vs FSEP PQV vs GSEP PQV vs OCTP PQV vs OCTT

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

Where these figures came from

Innovator page for BALT ↗PQV filings on SEC EDGAR ↗PGIM website ↗

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 PQV, data as of Oct 2, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/balt-vs-pqv

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.