Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
BSEP vs USEP: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Nov 4, 2026 USEP can fall 5.6% before its buffer engages and BSEP 0.6%.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about BSEP and USEP
Net assets on Nov 4, 2026: $462m for Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - Sep and $245m for Innovator U.S. Equity Ultra Buffer ETF - Sep.
BSEP: reference −0.1% since period start, fund +0.5%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +19.8%; Buffer working. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
BSEP: reference −0.1% since period start, fund +0.5%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +19.8%; Buffer working. Data to Nov 4, 2026.USEP: reference −0.1% since period start, fund +0.5%; buffer −5 to −35; cap +14.7%; In the unprotected slice. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
USEP: reference −0.1% since period start, fund +0.5%; buffer −5 to −35; cap +14.7%; In the unprotected slice. Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
Both cost 0.79% a year; their one-year returns differ by 3.1 points; BSEP is 1.9 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | BSEP | USEP |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +12.1% | +9.0% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Index fall to the buffer | 0.0% | 4.9% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | SPY | SPY |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.79% | 0.79% |
| Net assets | $462m | $245m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
How much of a bear-market fall the buffer would absorb from today's level, ranked against 292 buffer ETFs on stocks with a live outcome period. 100 is best. How it is computed
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 →
Risk and return
Sep 13, 2019 to Oct 30, 2026 · 372 weekly returns · each against SPYFrom Sep 2019 to Oct 2026, BSEP returned more: +117.0% to +69.4%. USEP swung less: 7.7% to 12.8%. USEP fell less at its worst: −13.0% to −22.9%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | BSEP | USEP | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +117.0% | +69.4% | +178.8% | BSEP | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +11.4% | +7.6% | +15.4% | BSEP | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +114.0% | +68.3% | +151.0% | BSEP | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 12.8% | 7.7% | 18.4% | USEP | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 8.8% | 5.3% | 12.7% | USEP | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −22.9% | −13.0% | −31.8% | USEP | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 56.4% | 29.6% | 100.0% | BSEP | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 74.4% | 47.8% | 100.0% | USEP | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.68 | 0.39 | 1.00 | USEP lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.97 | 0.89 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 0.69 | 0.62 | 0.71 | BSEP (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.99 | 0.90 | 1.04 | BSEP (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.129 | 0.121 | 0.132 | BSEP (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 0.50 | 0.59 | 0.48 | USEP | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | SPY | SPY | SPY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −0.2% a year | −0.4% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.23 | −0.43 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −2.0% to +1.6% | −2.3% to +1.5% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −0.69 | −0.73 | BSEP (slight) | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 6.3% | 11.4% | 0.0% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 372 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Window by window
| Total return | Gap to the reference's price return | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | BSEP | USEP | BSEP | USEP |
| 3 months | +1.3% | +1.0% | +1.7 pts | +1.4 pts |
| 6 months | +5.0% | +3.7% | +0.5 pts | −0.8 pts |
| 1 year | +12.1% | +9.0% | −1.5 pts | −4.6 pts |
| 3 years | +59.6% | +43.2% | −16.8 pts | −33.2 pts |
| Since launchBSEP Sep 2019 · USEP Sep 2019 | +125.0% | +72.9% | −38.7 pts | −90.9 pts |
Each fund's gap is to its reference's price return, dividends left out: the basis the outcome period uses. Open this comparison in the app →
Side by side
As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
USEP has fallen through its protection. The index is 0.1% below where the buffer stops, and that part of the loss is the holder’s.
Both are Innovator funds, so the difference between them is the terms rather than the house.
Where each one stands today
BSEP resets first, on Aug 31, 2027, 300 days from now; USEP runs to Aug 31, 2027, 300 days. BSEP can still gain 19.0% before its cap, USEP 14.0%. A fall from here reaches BSEP’s buffer after 0.6% and USEP’s after 5.6%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.
Client brief:
The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.
BSEP
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 19.0% 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 number. In index terms, SPY can fall 0.0% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 8.9% of the 9.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 300 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Aug 31, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
USEP
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 14.0% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 5.6% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, SPY can fall 4.9% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 30.0% of the 30.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level.
Questions people ask
Links are sources, not endorsements. 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 number 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 number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, BSEP against USEP, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bsep-vs-usep
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). BSEP against USEP. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bsep-vs-usep
[BSEP against USEP (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bsep-vs-usep)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.