BSEP vs DJAN: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Oct 9, 2026 DJAN can fall 12.6% before its buffer engages and BSEP 1.4%, and DJAN resets 228 days sooner. Net assets on Oct 9, 2026: $470m for Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Sep and $455m for FT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - January.
BSEP costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.9 points.
| BSEP | DJAN | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.79% | 0.85% |
| Net assets | $470m | $455m |
| Total return, 1 year | +13.2% | +11.3% |
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| Index fall to the buffer | 1.5% | 15.6% |
BSEP: reference +1.5% since period start, fund +1.4%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +19.8%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.
BSEP: reference +1.5% since period start, fund +1.4%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +19.8%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.
DJAN: reference +12.6% since period start, fund +7.7%; buffer −5 to −30; cap +11.6%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.
DJAN: reference +12.6% since period start, fund +7.7%; buffer −5 to −30; cap +11.6%; 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 →
DJAN is already at its cap, so more rise in the index adds nothing to it before the period ends.
They do not reset together. DJAN has 98 days of its period left and BSEP has 326, so the two are not the same bet on the same months.
Where each one stands today
DJAN resets first, on Jan 15, 2027, 98 days from now; BSEP runs to Aug 31, 2027, 326 days. BSEP can still gain 18.0% before its cap, DJAN 2.9%. A fall from here reaches BSEP’s buffer after 1.4% and DJAN’s after 12.6%. 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 | BSEP | DJAN | BSEP | DJAN |
| 3 months | +3.2% | +2.7% | +0.1 pts | −0.4 pts |
| 6 months | +10.5% | +8.2% | −4.1 pts | −6.4 pts |
| 1 year | +13.2% | +11.3% | −2.8 pts | −4.7 pts |
| 3 years | +60.8% | +43.5% | −18.4 pts | −35.6 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.
BSEP in plain words
From its price on Oct 9, 2026, the fund can gain about 18.0% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 1.4% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 1.5% 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. 326 days remained on Oct 9, 2026. On Aug 31, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
DJAN in plain words
SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +11.6% 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 2.9% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 12.6% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 15.6% 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. 98 days remained on Oct 9, 2026. On Jan 15, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
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, BSEP against DJAN, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bsep-vs-djan
ETFIQ. (Oct 9, 2026). BSEP against DJAN. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bsep-vs-djan
[BSEP against DJAN (ETFIQ, Oct 9, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bsep-vs-djan)
Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.