BSEP vs SEPT: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Oct 9, 2026 SEPT can fall 2.1% before its buffer engages and BSEP 1.4%. Net assets: $470m on Oct 9, 2026 for Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Sep, and $38m on Oct 8, 2026 for AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer10 ETF - Sep.
SEPT costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.5 points; BSEP is 12.4 times larger.
| BSEP | SEPT | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.79% | 0.74% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 8, 2026 | $468m | $38m |
| Total return, 1 year | +13.2% | +12.7% |
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| Index fall to the buffer | 1.5% | |
BSEP: reference +1.5% since period start, fund +1.4%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +19.8%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.
BSEP: reference +1.5% since period start, fund +1.4%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +19.8%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.
SEPT: reference +1.5% since period start, fund +1.4%; buffer 0 to −10; cap +17.5%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.
SEPT: reference +1.5% since period start, fund +1.4%; buffer 0 to −10; cap +17.5%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 9, 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 →
Where each one stands today
BSEP resets first, on Aug 31, 2027, 326 days from now; SEPT runs to Aug 31, 2027, 326 days. BSEP can still gain 18.0% before its cap, SEPT 15.2%. A fall from here reaches BSEP’s buffer after 1.4% and SEPT’s after 2.1%. 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 | SEPT | BSEP | SEPT |
| 3 months | +3.2% | +2.9% | +0.1 pts | −0.2 pts |
| 6 months | +10.5% | +9.9% | −4.1 pts | −4.7 pts |
| 1 year | +13.2% | +12.7% | −2.8 pts | −3.3 pts |
| 3 years | +60.8% | +59.0% | −18.4 pts | −20.2 pts |
Each fund's gap is to its reference's price return, dividends left out: the basis the outcome period uses. Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →
On the same fields
As of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
BSEP in plain words
From its price on Oct 9, 2026, the fund can gain about 18.0% 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 1.5% 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. 326 days remained on Oct 9, 2026. On Aug 31, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
SEPT in plain words
From its price on Oct 9, 2026, the fund can gain about 15.2% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 2.1% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. Protection left, in index points: 10.0% of the 10.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level.
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.
ETFIQ, BSEP against SEPT, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bsep-vs-sept
ETFIQ. (Oct 9, 2026). BSEP against SEPT. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bsep-vs-sept
[BSEP against SEPT (ETFIQ, Oct 9, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bsep-vs-sept)
Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.