Which has more room to gain, BSEP or PNOV?

From their prices on Oct 13, 2026, BSEP can gain about 18.1% before its cap and PNOV about 0.8%, so BSEP has more room left this period.

Which resets first, BSEP or PNOV?

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

Which is cheaper, BSEP or PNOV?

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

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BSEP vs PNOV: Cap, Buffer & Days Left

As of Oct 13, 2026 PNOV can fall 11.1% before its buffer engages and BSEP 1.4%, and PNOV resets 304 days sooner. Net assets on Oct 12, 2026: $470m for Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Sep and $838m for Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - Nov.

Both cost 0.79% a year; their one-year returns differ by 2.2 points; PNOV is 1.8 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

BSEP vs PNOV: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
	BSEP	PNOV
Expense ratio	0.79%	0.79%
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026	$470m	$838m
Total return, 1 year	+15.0%	+12.8%
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

11.1%

PNOV can fall this far before its buffer

18.1%

BSEP can still gain

0.8%

PNOV 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.

PNOVAt its cap

PNOV: reference +14.0% since period start, fund +11.5%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +13.3%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 13, 2026.

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

BSEP 19.7

PNOV 17.6

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 →

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

They do not reset together. PNOV has 18 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

PNOV resets first, on Oct 31, 2026, 18 days from now; BSEP runs to Aug 31, 2027, 322 days. BSEP can still gain 18.1% before its cap, PNOV 0.8%. A fall from here reaches BSEP’s buffer after 1.4% and PNOV’s after 11.1%. 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 PNOV: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
	Total return		Gap to the reference's price return
Window	BSEP	PNOV	BSEP	PNOV
3 months	+3.4%	+3.8%	−0.4 pts	−0.1 pts
6 months	+9.6%	+9.5%	−3.8 pts	−3.9 pts
1 year	+15.0%	+12.8%	−4.2 pts	−6.4 pts
3 years	+61.7%	+38.7%	−18.6 pts	−41.6 pts
Since launch Not the same days: BSEP Sep 2019 · PNOV Nov 2019	+126.7%	+80.2%	−40.9 pts	−73.9 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

PNOV

Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - Nov · Absorbs the first 15% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 13.3%, over a period ending Oct 31, 2026

Issuer Innovator Innovator

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 9% 15%

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

Days left 322 18

Starting cap +19.8% +13.3%

Can still gain 18.1% 0.8%

Fall before buffer 1.4% 11.1%

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% +11.5%

State today Open At cap

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.79%

Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026 $470m $838m

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 PNOV

SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +13.3% 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 0.8% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 11.1% 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. 18 days remained on Oct 13, 2026. On Oct 31, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.

Questions people ask

Which has more room to gain, BSEP or PNOV?: From their prices on Oct 13, 2026, BSEP can gain about 18.1% before its cap and PNOV about 0.8%, so BSEP has more room left this period.
Which resets first, BSEP or PNOV?: BSEP ends its outcome period on Aug 31, 2027 and PNOV on Oct 31, 2026. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, BSEP or PNOV?: BSEP and PNOV both charge 0.79% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BSEP vs PMSE BSEP vs PMAY BSEP vs PJUN BSEP vs PFEB PNOV vs DDFN PNOV vs XOCT PNOV vs PBNV PNOV vs NOVP

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

Where these figures came from

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

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 PNOV, data as of Oct 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bsep-vs-pnov

Open data

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