Which has more room to gain, BSEP or FJUL?

From their prices on Oct 2, 2026, BSEP can gain about 19.1% before its cap and FJUL about 12.8%, so BSEP has more room left this period.

Which resets first, BSEP or FJUL?

BSEP ends its outcome period on Aug 31, 2027 and FJUL on Jul 16, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, BSEP or FJUL?

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

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BSEP vs FJUL: which one stands where?

As of Oct 2, 2026 FJUL can fall 3.6% before its buffer engages and BSEP 0.6%, and FJUL resets 46 days sooner. Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Sep and FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - July.

BSEP costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.2 points; FJUL is 3.0 times larger.

	BSEP	FJUL
Expense ratio	0.79%	0.85%
Net assets	$466m	$1.4bn
Total return, 1 year	+12.4%	+12.2%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published

0.6%

BSEP can fall this far before its buffer

3.6%

FJUL can fall this far before its buffer

19.1%

BSEP can still gain

12.8%

FJUL can still gain

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.

FJULBetween buffer and cap

FJUL: reference +3.5% since period start, fund +2.9%; buffer 0 to −10; cap +16.8%; Between buffer and cap.

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

BSEP 16.5

FJUL 35.9

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 →

They do not reset together. FJUL has 287 days of its period left and BSEP has 333, so the two are not the same bet on the same months.

Where each one stands today

FJUL resets first, on Jul 16, 2027, 287 days from now; BSEP runs to Aug 31, 2027, 333 days. BSEP can still gain 19.1% before its cap, FJUL 12.8%. A fall from here reaches BSEP’s buffer after 0.6% and FJUL’s after 3.6%. 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	BSEP	FJUL	BSEP	FJUL
3 months	+3.1%	+3.3%	−0.5 pts	−0.3 pts
6 months	+12.4%	+11.7%	−5.5 pts	−6.2 pts
1 year	+12.4%	+12.2%	−3.9 pts	−4.0 pts
3 years	+63.4%	+62.1%	−25.9 pts	−27.2 pts

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

On the same fields

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

FJUL

FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - July · Absorbs the first 10% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 16.8%, over a period ending Jul 16, 2027

Issuer Innovator First Trust

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 9% 10%

Outcome period Aug 31, 2026 to Aug 31, 2027 Jul 20, 2026 to Jul 16, 2027

Days left 333 287

Starting cap +19.8% +16.8%

Can still gain 19.1% 12.8%

Fall before buffer 0.6% 3.6%

Protection left, index points 9.0% of 9.0% 10.0% of 10.0%

Index return this period +0.3% +3.5%

Fund return this period +0.5% +2.9%

State today Open Open

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.85%

Net assets $466m $1.4bn

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

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. Protection left, in index points: 9.0% of the 9.0% 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.

FJUL in plain words

From its price on Oct 2, 2026, the fund can gain about 12.8% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 3.6% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 3.4% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 10.0% of the 10.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 287 days remained on Oct 2, 2026. On Jul 16, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

Questions people ask

Which has more room to gain, BSEP or FJUL?: From their prices on Oct 2, 2026, BSEP can gain about 19.1% before its cap and FJUL about 12.8%, so BSEP has more room left this period.
Which resets first, BSEP or FJUL?: BSEP ends its outcome period on Aug 31, 2027 and FJUL on Jul 16, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, BSEP or FJUL?: BSEP charges 0.79% a year and FJUL charges 0.85%, so BSEP is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BSEP vs FJAN BSEP vs PAUG BSEP vs PBSE BSEP vs PDEC FJUL vs UJAN FJUL vs UJUL FJUL vs UOCT FJUL vs CPSA

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

Where these figures came from

BSEP filings on SEC EDGAR ↗Innovator page for BSEP ↗FJUL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗First Trust page for FJUL ↗

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

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.