Which has more room to gain, BSEP or PJAN?

From their prices on Oct 13, 2026, BSEP can gain about 18.1% before its cap and PJAN about 2.4%, so BSEP has more room left this period.

Which resets first, BSEP or PJAN?

BSEP ends its outcome period on Aug 31, 2027 and PJAN on Dec 31, 2026. A new cap is set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, BSEP or PJAN?

BSEP and PJAN both charge 0.79% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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BSEP vs PJAN: Cap, Buffer & Days Left

As of Oct 13, 2026 PJAN can fall 8.8% before its buffer engages and BSEP 1.4%, and PJAN resets 243 days sooner. Net assets on Oct 12, 2026: $470m for Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Sep and $1.4bn for Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - Jan.

Both cost 0.79% a year; their one-year returns differ by 2.3 points; PJAN is 3.0 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

BSEP vs PJAN: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
	BSEP	PJAN
Expense ratio	0.79%	0.79%
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026	$470m	$1.4bn
Total return, 1 year	+15.0%	+12.7%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published
Index fall to the buffer	1.3%	12.3%

1.4%

BSEP can fall this far before its buffer

8.8%

PJAN can fall this far before its buffer

18.1%

BSEP can still gain

2.4%

PJAN can still gain

BSEPBetween buffer and cap

BSEP: reference +1.3% since period start, fund +1.4%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +19.8%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 13, 2026.

PJANAt its cap

PJAN: reference +14.0% since period start, fund +9.0%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +12.3%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 13, 2026.

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

BSEP 19.7

PJAN 52.2

0.2, the lowest in this set99.8, the highest

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 →

PJAN is already at its cap, so more rise in the index adds nothing to it before the period ends.

They do not reset together. PJAN has 79 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

PJAN resets first, on Dec 31, 2026, 79 days from now; BSEP runs to Aug 31, 2027, 322 days. BSEP can still gain 18.1% before its cap, PJAN 2.4%. A fall from here reaches BSEP’s buffer after 1.4% and PJAN’s after 8.8%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.

Performance, window by window

Performance, window by window: BSEP vs PJAN: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
	Total return		Gap to the reference's price return
Window	BSEP	PJAN	BSEP	PJAN
3 months	+3.4%	+3.1%	−0.4 pts	−0.8 pts
6 months	+9.6%	+7.6%	−3.8 pts	−5.8 pts
1 year	+15.0%	+12.7%	−4.2 pts	−6.5 pts
3 years	+61.7%	+46.1%	−18.6 pts	−34.3 pts
Since launch Not the same days: BSEP Sep 2019 · PJAN Jan 2019	+126.7%	+102.5%	−40.9 pts	−108.6 pts

Each fund's gap is to its reference's price return, dividends left out: the basis the outcome period uses. Source: ETFIQ. Open this comparison in the app →

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

PJAN

Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - Jan · Absorbs the first 15% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 12.3%, over a period ending Dec 31, 2026

Issuer Innovator Innovator

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 9% 15%

Outcome period Aug 31, 2026 to Aug 31, 2027 Dec 31, 2025 to Dec 31, 2026

Days left 322 79

Starting cap +19.8% +12.3%

Can still gain 18.1% 2.4%

Fall before buffer 1.4% 8.8%

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

Index return this period +1.3% +14.0%

Fund return this period +1.4% +9.0%

State today Open At cap

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.79%

Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026 $470m $1.4bn

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 1.3% 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. 322 days remained on Oct 13, 2026. On Aug 31, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

About PJAN

SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +12.3% 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 2.4% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 8.8% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 12.3% 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. 79 days remained on Oct 13, 2026. On Dec 31, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.

Questions people ask

Which has more room to gain, BSEP or PJAN?: From their prices on Oct 13, 2026, BSEP can gain about 18.1% before its cap and PJAN about 2.4%, so BSEP has more room left this period.
Which resets first, BSEP or PJAN?: BSEP ends its outcome period on Aug 31, 2027 and PJAN on Dec 31, 2026. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, BSEP or PJAN?: BSEP and PJAN both charge 0.79% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BSEP vs SEPW BSEP vs PBSE BSEP vs PMSE BSEP vs FJUL PJAN vs PJUN PJAN vs POCT PJAN vs PSEP PJAN vs PJUL

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

Where these figures came from

BSEP and PJAN filings on SEC EDGAR ↗Innovator page for BSEP ↗Innovator page for PJAN ↗

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.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, BSEP against PJAN, data as of Oct 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bsep-vs-pjan

Open data

Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.