BSEP vs PDEC: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Oct 13, 2026 PDEC can fall 10.2% before its buffer engages and BSEP 1.4%, and PDEC resets 274 days sooner. Net assets on Oct 13, 2026: $470m for Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Sep and $996m for Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - Dec.
Both cost 0.79% a year; their one-year returns differ by 0.6 points; PDEC is 2.1 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| BSEP | PDEC | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.79% | 0.79% |
| Net assets | $470m | $996m |
| Total return, 1 year | +14.0% | +13.4% |
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| Index fall to the buffer | 1.4% | 12.2% |
BSEP: reference +1.4% since period start, fund +1.3%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +19.8%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 13, 2026.
BSEP: reference +1.4% since period start, fund +1.3%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +19.8%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 13, 2026.
PDEC: reference +13.8% since period start, fund +10.5%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +13.1%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 13, 2026.
PDEC: reference +13.8% since period start, fund +10.5%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +13.1%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 13, 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 →
PDEC is already at its cap, so more rise in the index adds nothing to it before the period ends.
They do not reset together. PDEC has 48 days of its period left and BSEP has 322, 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
PDEC resets first, on Nov 30, 2026, 48 days from now; BSEP runs to Aug 31, 2027, 322 days. BSEP can still gain 18.1% before its cap, PDEC 1.7%. A fall from here reaches BSEP’s buffer after 1.4% and PDEC’s after 10.2%. 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 | PDEC | BSEP | PDEC |
| 3 months | +3.3% | +3.1% | −0.2 pts | −0.3 pts |
| 6 months | +8.9% | +7.8% | −3.1 pts | −4.2 pts |
| 1 year | +14.0% | +13.4% | −3.3 pts | −3.9 pts |
| 3 years | +61.8% | +46.3% | −18.5 pts | −34.0 pts |
| Since launch Not the same days: BSEP Sep 2019 · PDEC Dec 2019 | +126.8% | +80.8% | −40.8 pts | −68.8 pts |
Each fund's gap is to its reference's price return, dividends left out: the basis the outcome period uses. Source: ETFIQ. Open this comparison in the app →
On the same fields
As of Oct 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
About BSEP
From its price on Oct 13, 2026, the fund can gain about 18.1% 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 1.4% 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. 322 days remained on Oct 13, 2026. On Aug 31, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
About PDEC
SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +13.1% for the period on Oct 13, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's own price can still drift up to about 1.7% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 10.2% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 12.2% 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. 48 days remained on Oct 13, 2026. On Nov 30, 2026 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.
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ETFIQ, BSEP against PDEC, data as of Oct 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bsep-vs-pdec
ETFIQ. (Oct 13, 2026). BSEP against PDEC. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bsep-vs-pdec
[BSEP against PDEC (ETFIQ, Oct 13, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bsep-vs-pdec)
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