Which has more room to gain, BMAR or PBMR?

From their prices on Oct 9, 2026, BMAR can gain about 5.6% before its cap and PBMR about 3.4%, so BMAR has more room left this period.

Which resets first, BMAR or PBMR?

BMAR ends its outcome period on Feb 28, 2027 and PBMR on Feb 28, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, BMAR or PBMR?

BMAR charges 0.79% a year and PBMR charges 0.50%, so PBMR is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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BMAR vs PBMR: Cap, Buffer & Days Left

As of Oct 9, 2026 BMAR can fall 9.8% before its buffer engages and PBMR 6.8%. Net assets on Oct 9, 2026: $206m for Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Mar and $37m for PGIM S&P 500 Buffer 20 ETF - March .

PBMR costs 0.29 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.0 points; BMAR is 5.6 times larger.

	BMAR	PBMR
Expense ratio	0.79%	0.50%
Net assets	$206m	$37m
Total return, 1 year	+15.5%	+10.5%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published
Index fall to the buffer	11.9%

9.8%

BMAR can fall this far before its buffer

6.8%

PBMR can fall this far before its buffer

5.6%

BMAR can still gain

3.4%

PBMR can still gain

BMARBetween buffer and cap

BMAR: reference +13.5% since period start, fund +10.3%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +17.0%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.

PBMRAt its cap

PBMR: reference +13.5% since period start, fund +6.8%; buffer 0 to −20; cap +10.9%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.

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

BMAR 19.2

PBMR 68.3

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

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 →

PBMR is already at its cap, so more rise in the index adds nothing to it before the period ends.

Where each one stands today

BMAR resets first, on Feb 28, 2027, 142 days from now; PBMR runs to Feb 28, 2027, 142 days. BMAR can still gain 5.6% before its cap, PBMR 3.4%. A fall from here reaches BMAR’s buffer after 9.8% and PBMR’s after 6.8%. 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	BMAR	PBMR	BMAR	PBMR
3 months	+3.1%	+2.4%	0.0 pts	−0.7 pts
6 months	+10.3%	+6.7%	−4.3 pts	−7.9 pts
1 year	+15.5%	+10.5%	−0.5 pts	−5.5 pts
3 years	+62.5%	not published	−16.6 pts	not published

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

BMAR

Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Mar · Absorbs the first 9% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 17.0%, over a period ending Feb 28, 2027

PBMR

PGIM S&P 500 Buffer 20 ETF - March · Absorbs the first 20% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 10.9%, over a period ending Feb 28, 2027

Issuer Innovator PGIM

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 9% 20%

Outcome period Feb 28, 2026 to Feb 28, 2027 Mar 1, 2026 to Feb 28, 2027

Days left 142 142

Starting cap +17.0% +10.9%

Can still gain 5.6% 3.4%

Fall before buffer 9.8% 6.8%

Protection left, index points 9.0% of 9.0% 20.0% of 20.0%

Index return this period +13.5% +13.5%

Fund return this period +10.3% +6.8%

State today Open At cap

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.50%

Net assets $206m $37m

As of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

BMAR in plain words

From its price on Oct 9, 2026, the fund can gain about 5.6% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 9.8% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 11.9% 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. 142 days remained on Oct 9, 2026. On Feb 28, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

PBMR in plain words

SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +10.9% 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 3.4% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 6.8% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. Protection left, in index points: 20.0% of the 20.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level.

Questions people ask

Which has more room to gain, BMAR or PBMR?: From their prices on Oct 9, 2026, BMAR can gain about 5.6% before its cap and PBMR about 3.4%, so BMAR has more room left this period.
Which resets first, BMAR or PBMR?: BMAR ends its outcome period on Feb 28, 2027 and PBMR on Feb 28, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, BMAR or PBMR?: BMAR charges 0.79% a year and PBMR charges 0.50%, so PBMR is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BMAR vs MARU BMAR vs DDFM BMAR vs MRCP BMAR vs FEBM PBMR vs UMAR PBMR vs ZMAR PBMR vs DFEB PBMR vs XFEB

SPY →BMAR on its own →PBMR on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

BMAR filings on SEC EDGAR ↗Innovator page for BMAR ↗PBMR filings on SEC EDGAR ↗PGIM website ↗

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.

Cite this page

ETFIQ, BMAR against PBMR, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bmar-vs-pbmr

Open data

Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.