Which has more room to gain, BSEP or PJUL?

From their prices on Oct 2, 2026, BSEP can gain about 19.1% before its cap and PJUL about 11.1%, so BSEP has more room left this period.

Which resets first, BSEP or PJUL?

BSEP ends its outcome period on Aug 31, 2027 and PJUL on Jun 30, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, BSEP or PJUL?

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

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BSEP vs PJUL: which one stands where?

As of Oct 2, 2026 PJUL can fall 2.6% before its buffer engages and BSEP 0.6%, and PJUL resets 62 days sooner. Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Sep and Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - Jul.

their one-year returns differ by 3.1 points; PJUL is 2.8 times larger.

	BSEP	PJUL
Expense ratio	0.79%	0.79%
Net assets	$466m	$1.3bn
Total return, 1 year	+12.4%	+9.3%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published

0.6%

BSEP can fall this far before its buffer

2.6%

PJUL can fall this far before its buffer

19.1%

BSEP can still gain

11.1%

PJUL 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.

PJULBetween buffer and cap

PJUL: reference +3.1% since period start, fund +2.4%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +14.0%; Between buffer and cap.

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

BSEP 16.5

PJUL 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. PJUL has 271 days of its period left and BSEP has 333, 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

PJUL resets first, on Jun 30, 2027, 271 days from now; BSEP runs to Aug 31, 2027, 333 days. BSEP can still gain 19.1% before its cap, PJUL 11.1%. A fall from here reaches BSEP’s buffer after 0.6% and PJUL’s after 2.6%. 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	PJUL	BSEP	PJUL
3 months	+3.1%	+2.4%	−0.5 pts	−1.2 pts
6 months	+12.4%	+8.0%	−5.5 pts	−10.0 pts
1 year	+12.4%	+9.3%	−3.9 pts	−7.0 pts
3 years	+63.4%	+49.1%	−25.9 pts	−40.2 pts

BSEP and PJUL 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

PJUL

Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - Jul · Absorbs the first 15% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 14.0%, over a period ending Jun 30, 2027

Issuer Innovator Innovator

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 9% 15%

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

Days left 333 271

Starting cap +19.8% +14.0%

Can still gain 19.1% 11.1%

Fall before buffer 0.6% 2.6%

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

Index return this period +0.3% +3.1%

Fund return this period +0.5% +2.4%

State today Open Open

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.79%

Net assets $466m $1.3bn

BSEP and PJUL 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.

PJUL in plain words

From its price on Oct 2, 2026, the fund can gain about 11.1% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 2.6% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 3.0% 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. 271 days remained on Oct 2, 2026. On Jun 30, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

Questions people ask

Which has more room to gain, BSEP or PJUL?: From their prices on Oct 2, 2026, BSEP can gain about 19.1% before its cap and PJUL about 11.1%, so BSEP has more room left this period.
Which resets first, BSEP or PJUL?: BSEP ends its outcome period on Aug 31, 2027 and PJUL on Jun 30, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, BSEP or PJUL?: BSEP charges 0.79% a year and PJUL charges 0.79%, so BSEP is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BSEP vs FJUL BSEP vs FOCT BSEP vs GAUG BSEP vs GJAN PJUL vs HJLY PJUL vs JULC PJUL vs JULP PJUL vs JULT

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

Where these figures came from

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

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 PJUL, data as of Oct 2, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bsep-vs-pjul

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.