BAPR vs DAPR: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Oct 9, 2026 BAPR can fall 11.5% before its buffer engages and DAPR 10.7%, and BAPR resets 16 days sooner. Net assets on Oct 9, 2026: $417m for Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Apr and $331m for FT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - April.
BAPR costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 8.5 points; BAPR is 1.3 times larger.
| BAPR | DAPR | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.79% | 0.85% |
| Net assets | $417m | $331m |
| Total return, 1 year | +17.3% | +8.8% |
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| Index fall to the buffer | 16.5% | 13.4% |
BAPR: reference +19.7% since period start, fund +12.4%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +18.5%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.
BAPR: reference +19.7% since period start, fund +12.4%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +18.5%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.
DAPR: reference +9.6% since period start, fund +5.4%; buffer −5 to −30; cap +12.0%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.
DAPR: reference +9.6% since period start, fund +5.4%; buffer −5 to −30; cap +12.0%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.
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 →
BAPR is already at its cap, so more rise in the index adds nothing to it before the period ends.
Where each one stands today
BAPR resets first, on Mar 31, 2027, 173 days from now; DAPR runs to Apr 16, 2027, 189 days. BAPR can still gain 5.0% before its cap, DAPR 5.5%. A fall from here reaches BAPR’s buffer after 11.5% and DAPR’s after 10.7%. 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 | BAPR | DAPR | BAPR | DAPR |
| 3 months | +2.9% | +2.4% | −0.3 pts | −0.7 pts |
| 6 months | +9.0% | +5.3% | −5.6 pts | −9.3 pts |
| 1 year | +17.3% | +8.8% | +1.3 pts | −7.2 pts |
| 3 years | +55.5% | +37.4% | −23.7 pts | −41.8 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
As of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
BAPR in plain words
SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +18.5% 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 5.0% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 11.5% 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: 9.0% of the 9.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 173 days remained on Oct 9, 2026. On Mar 31, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
DAPR in plain words
From its price on Oct 9, 2026, the fund can gain about 5.5% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 10.7% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 13.4% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 25.0% of the 25.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 189 days remained on Oct 9, 2026. On Apr 16, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
Questions people ask
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.
ETFIQ, BAPR against DAPR, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bapr-vs-dapr
ETFIQ. (Oct 9, 2026). BAPR against DAPR. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bapr-vs-dapr
[BAPR against DAPR (ETFIQ, Oct 9, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bapr-vs-dapr)
Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.