Which has more room to gain, BOCT or DSEP?

From their prices on Oct 2, 2026, BOCT can gain about 19.4% before its cap and DSEP about 13.0%, so BOCT has more room left this period.

Which resets first, BOCT or DSEP?

BOCT ends its outcome period on Sep 30, 2027 and DSEP on Sep 17, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, BOCT or DSEP?

BOCT charges 0.79% a year and DSEP charges 0.85%, so BOCT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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BOCT vs DSEP: which one stands where?

As of Oct 2, 2026 DSEP can fall 6.5% before its buffer engages and BOCT 0.7%, and DSEP resets 13 days sooner. Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Oct and FT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - September.

BOCT costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.4 points; DSEP is 1.3 times larger.

	BOCT	DSEP
Expense ratio	0.79%	0.85%
Net assets	$292m	$391m
Total return, 1 year	+14.3%	+10.9%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published

0.7%

BOCT can fall this far before its buffer

6.5%

DSEP can fall this far before its buffer

19.4%

BOCT can still gain

13.0%

DSEP can still gain

BOCTBetween buffer and cap

BOCT: reference +0.9% since period start, fund +0.7%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +20.2%; Between buffer and cap.

DSEPBetween buffer and cap

DSEP: reference +1.0% since period start, fund +0.7%; buffer −5 to −30; cap +14.6%; Between buffer and cap.

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

BOCT 16.5

DSEP 68.9

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

DSEP resets first, on Sep 17, 2027, 350 days from now; BOCT runs to Sep 30, 2027, 363 days. BOCT can still gain 19.4% before its cap, DSEP 13.0%. A fall from here reaches BOCT’s buffer after 0.7% and DSEP’s after 6.5%. 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	BOCT	DSEP	BOCT	DSEP
3 months	+4.6%	+3.5%	+1.0 pts	−0.1 pts
6 months	+14.8%	+11.1%	−3.2 pts	−6.9 pts
1 year	+14.3%	+10.9%	−1.9 pts	−5.3 pts
3 years	+58.1%	+45.3%	−31.2 pts	−44.0 pts

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

On the same fields

BOCT

Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Oct · Absorbs the first 9% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 20.2%, over a period ending Sep 30, 2027

DSEP

FT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - September · Absorbs losses from 5.0% to 30.0% on SPY and caps the gain at 14.6%, over a period ending Sep 17, 2027

Issuer Innovator First Trust

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 9% 5% to 30%

Outcome period Sep 30, 2026 to Sep 30, 2027 Sep 21, 2026 to Sep 17, 2027

Days left 363 350

Starting cap +20.2% +14.6%

Can still gain 19.4% 13.0%

Fall before buffer 0.7% 6.5%

Protection left, index points 9.0% of 9.0% 25.0% of 25.0%

Index return this period +0.9% +1.0%

Fund return this period +0.7% +0.7%

State today Open Open

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.85%

Net assets $292m $391m

BOCT and DSEP on the same fields, as of Oct 2, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

BOCT in plain words

From its price on Oct 2, 2026, the fund can gain about 19.4% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 0.7% 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: 9.0% of the 9.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 363 days remained on Oct 2, 2026. On Sep 30, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

DSEP in plain words

From its price on Oct 2, 2026, the fund can gain about 13.0% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 6.5% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 6.0% 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. 350 days remained on Oct 2, 2026. On Sep 17, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

Questions people ask

Which has more room to gain, BOCT or DSEP?: From their prices on Oct 2, 2026, BOCT can gain about 19.4% before its cap and DSEP about 13.0%, so BOCT has more room left this period.
Which resets first, BOCT or DSEP?: BOCT ends its outcome period on Sep 30, 2027 and DSEP on Sep 17, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, BOCT or DSEP?: BOCT charges 0.79% a year and DSEP charges 0.85%, so BOCT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BOCT vs XSEP BOCT vs ZALT BOCT vs ZOCT BOCT vs BSEP DSEP vs OCTW DSEP vs PBOC DSEP vs PMOC DSEP vs SEPM

SPY →BOCT on its own →DSEP on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

BOCT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗Innovator page for BOCT ↗DSEP filings on SEC EDGAR ↗First Trust page for DSEP ↗

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, BOCT against DSEP, data as of Oct 2, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/boct-vs-dsep

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.