BDEC vs UDEC: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Oct 9, 2026 UDEC can fall 14.0% before its buffer engages and BDEC 11.8%. Net assets on Oct 9, 2026: $216m for Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Dec and $244m for Innovator U.S. Equity Ultra Buffer ETF - Dec.
Both cost 0.79% a year; their one-year returns differ by 3.0 points; UDEC is 1.1 times larger.
| BDEC | UDEC | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.79% | 0.79% |
| Net assets | $216m | $244m |
| Total return, 1 year | +15.2% | +12.2% |
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| Index fall to the buffer | 12.2% | 16.6% |
BDEC: reference +13.9% since period start, fund +12.6%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +17.4%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.
BDEC: reference +13.9% since period start, fund +12.6%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +17.4%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.
UDEC: reference +13.9% since period start, fund +9.6%; buffer −5 to −35; cap +12.0%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.
UDEC: reference +13.9% since period start, fund +9.6%; buffer −5 to −35; cap +12.0%; At its 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 →
UDEC is already at its cap, so more rise in the index adds nothing to it before the period ends.
Both are Innovator funds, so the difference between them is the terms rather than the house.
Where each one stands today
BDEC resets first, on Nov 30, 2026, 52 days from now; UDEC runs to Nov 30, 2026, 52 days. BDEC can still gain 3.6% before its cap, UDEC 1.6%. A fall from here reaches BDEC’s buffer after 11.8% and UDEC’s after 14.0%. 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 | BDEC | UDEC | BDEC | UDEC |
| 3 months | +3.5% | +3.0% | +0.4 pts | −0.2 pts |
| 6 months | +11.9% | +8.8% | −2.7 pts | −5.8 pts |
| 1 year | +15.2% | +12.2% | −0.8 pts | −3.9 pts |
| 3 years | +56.4% | +44.9% | −22.7 pts | −34.3 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.
BDEC in plain words
From its price on Oct 9, 2026, the fund can gain about 3.6% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 11.8% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 12.2% 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. 52 days remained on Oct 9, 2026. On Nov 30, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.
UDEC in plain words
SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +12.0% 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 1.6% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 14.0% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 16.6% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 30.0% of the 30.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level.
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, BDEC against UDEC, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bdec-vs-udec
ETFIQ. (Oct 9, 2026). BDEC against UDEC. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bdec-vs-udec
[BDEC against UDEC (ETFIQ, Oct 9, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bdec-vs-udec)
Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.