Which has more room to gain, BJAN or BSEP?

From their prices on Oct 2, 2026, BJAN can gain about 4.8% before its cap and BSEP about 19.1%, so BSEP has more room left this period.

Which resets first, BJAN or BSEP?

BJAN ends its outcome period on Dec 31, 2026 and BSEP on Aug 31, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, BJAN or BSEP?

BJAN charges 0.79% a year and BSEP charges 0.79%, so BJAN is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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BJAN vs BSEP: which one stands where?

As of Oct 2, 2026 BJAN can fall 10.1% before its buffer engages and BSEP 0.6%, and BJAN resets 243 days sooner. Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Jan and Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Sep.

their one-year returns differ by 2.1 points; BSEP is 1.3 times larger.

	BJAN	BSEP
Expense ratio	0.79%	0.79%
Net assets	$351m	$466m
Total return, 1 year	+14.5%	+12.4%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published

10.1%

BJAN can fall this far before its buffer

0.6%

BSEP can fall this far before its buffer

4.8%

BJAN can still gain

19.1%

BSEP can still gain

BJANBetween buffer and cap

BJAN: reference +12.9% since period start, fund +10.6%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +16.5%; Between buffer and cap.

BSEPBetween buffer and cap

BSEP: reference +0.3% since period start, fund +0.5%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +19.8%; Between buffer and cap.

ETFIQ Downside Cover Score · BJAN scores higherIf the market falls into a bear market from here, how much does the buffer absorb?

BJAN 16.5

BSEP 16.5

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 →

They do not reset together. BJAN has 90 days of its period left and BSEP has 333, so the two are not the same bet on the same months.

Both are Innovator funds, so the difference between them is the terms rather than the house.

Where each one stands today

BJAN resets first, on Dec 31, 2026, 90 days from now; BSEP runs to Aug 31, 2027, 333 days. BJAN can still gain 4.8% before its cap, BSEP 19.1%. A fall from here reaches BJAN’s buffer after 10.1% and BSEP’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	BJAN	BSEP	BJAN	BSEP
3 months	+3.4%	+3.1%	−0.2 pts	−0.5 pts
6 months	+13.0%	+12.4%	−4.9 pts	−5.5 pts
1 year	+14.5%	+12.4%	−1.8 pts	−3.9 pts
3 years	+67.6%	+63.4%	−21.7 pts	−25.9 pts

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

On the same fields

BJAN

Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Jan · Absorbs the first 9% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 16.5%, over a period ending Dec 31, 2026

BSEP

Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Sep · Absorbs the first 9% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 19.8%, over a period ending Aug 31, 2027

Issuer Innovator Innovator

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 9% 9%

Outcome period Dec 31, 2025 to Dec 31, 2026 Aug 31, 2026 to Aug 31, 2027

Days left 90 333

Starting cap +16.5% +19.8%

Can still gain 4.8% 19.1%

Fall before buffer 10.1% 0.6%

Protection left, index points 9.0% of 9.0% 9.0% of 9.0%

Index return this period +12.9% +0.3%

Fund return this period +10.6% +0.5%

State today Open Open

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.79%

Net assets $351m $466m

BJAN and BSEP on the same fields, as of Oct 2, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

BJAN in plain words

From its price on Oct 2, 2026, the fund can gain about 4.8% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 10.1% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 11.4% 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. 90 days remained on Oct 2, 2026. On Dec 31, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.

BSEP in plain words

From its price on Oct 2, 2026, the fund can gain about 19.1% 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. In index terms, SPY can fall 0.3% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. 333 days remained on Oct 2, 2026. On Aug 31, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

Questions people ask

Which has more room to gain, BJAN or BSEP?: From their prices on Oct 2, 2026, BJAN can gain about 4.8% before its cap and BSEP about 19.1%, so BSEP has more room left this period.
Which resets first, BJAN or BSEP?: BJAN ends its outcome period on Dec 31, 2026 and BSEP on Aug 31, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, BJAN or BSEP?: BJAN charges 0.79% a year and BSEP charges 0.79%, so BJAN is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BJAN vs PNOV BJAN vs POCT BJAN vs PQV BJAN vs PQX BSEP vs CPST BSEP vs DAPR BSEP vs DAUG BSEP vs DDFS

SPY →BJAN on its own →BSEP on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

BJAN and BSEP filings on SEC EDGAR ↗Innovator page for BJAN ↗Innovator page for BSEP ↗

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, BJAN against BSEP, data as of Oct 2, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bjan-vs-bsep

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.