Which has more room to gain, BOCT or PSEP?

From their prices on Oct 2, 2026, BOCT can gain about 19.4% before its cap and PSEP about 14.4%, so BOCT has more room left this period.

Which resets first, BOCT or PSEP?

BOCT ends its outcome period on Sep 30, 2027 and PSEP on Aug 31, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, BOCT or PSEP?

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

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BOCT vs PSEP: which one stands where?

As of Oct 2, 2026 BOCT can fall 0.7% before its buffer engages and PSEP 0.6%, and PSEP resets 30 days sooner. Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Oct and Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - Sep.

their one-year returns differ by 4.7 points; PSEP is 4.2 times larger.

	BOCT	PSEP
Expense ratio	0.79%	0.79%
Net assets	$292m	$1.2bn
Total return, 1 year	+14.3%	+9.6%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published

0.7%

BOCT can fall this far before its buffer

0.6%

PSEP can fall this far before its buffer

19.4%

BOCT can still gain

14.4%

PSEP 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.

PSEPBetween buffer and cap

PSEP: reference +0.3% since period start, fund +0.5%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +15.0%; Between buffer and cap.

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

BOCT 16.5

PSEP 83.8

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. PSEP has 333 days of its period left and BOCT has 363, 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

PSEP resets first, on Aug 31, 2027, 333 days from now; BOCT runs to Sep 30, 2027, 363 days. BOCT can still gain 19.4% before its cap, PSEP 14.4%. A fall from here reaches BOCT’s buffer after 0.7% and PSEP’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	BOCT	PSEP	BOCT	PSEP
3 months	+4.6%	+2.1%	+1.0 pts	−1.4 pts
6 months	+14.8%	+8.7%	−3.2 pts	−9.2 pts
1 year	+14.3%	+9.6%	−1.9 pts	−6.7 pts
3 years	+58.1%	+46.6%	−31.2 pts	−42.6 pts

BOCT and PSEP 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

PSEP

Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - Sep · Absorbs the first 15% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 15.0%, over a period ending Aug 31, 2027

Issuer Innovator Innovator

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 9% 15%

Outcome period Sep 30, 2026 to Sep 30, 2027 Aug 31, 2026 to Aug 31, 2027

Days left 363 333

Starting cap +20.2% +15.0%

Can still gain 19.4% 14.4%

Fall before buffer 0.7% 0.6%

Protection left, index points 9.0% of 9.0% 15.0% of 15.0%

Index return this period +0.9% +0.3%

Fund return this period +0.7% +0.5%

State today Open Open

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.79%

Net assets $292m $1.2bn

BOCT and PSEP 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.

PSEP in plain words

From its price on Oct 2, 2026, the fund can gain about 14.4% 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. Protection left, in index points: 15.0% of the 15.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 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, BOCT or PSEP?: From their prices on Oct 2, 2026, BOCT can gain about 19.4% before its cap and PSEP about 14.4%, so BOCT has more room left this period.
Which resets first, BOCT or PSEP?: BOCT ends its outcome period on Sep 30, 2027 and PSEP on Aug 31, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, BOCT or PSEP?: BOCT charges 0.79% a year and PSEP charges 0.79%, so BOCT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BOCT vs PBOC BOCT vs PDEC BOCT vs PFEB BOCT vs PJAN PSEP vs DAUG PSEP vs DDFS PSEP vs DDTS PSEP vs DLAG

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

Where these figures came from

BOCT and PSEP filings on SEC EDGAR ↗Innovator page for BOCT ↗Innovator page for PSEP ↗

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 PSEP, data as of Oct 2, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/boct-vs-psep

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.