Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
NOCT vs QBUF: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
As of Nov 4, 2026 NOCT can fall 0.0% before its buffer engages and QBUF 0.0%, and QBUF resets 273 days sooner.
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Net assets on Nov 4, 2026: $316m for Innovator Growth-100 Power Buffer ETF - Oct and $199m for Innovator Nasdaq-100 10 Buffer ETF - Quarterly.
NOCT: reference −6.5% since period start, fund −3.1%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +18.7%; Buffer working. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
NOCT: reference −6.5% since period start, fund −3.1%; buffer 0 to −15; cap +18.7%; Buffer working. Data to Nov 4, 2026.QBUF: reference −6.5% since period start, fund −1.9%; buffer 0 to −10; cap +4.7%; Buffer working. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
QBUF: reference −6.5% since period start, fund −1.9%; buffer 0 to −10; cap +4.7%; Buffer working. Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
Both cost 0.79% a year; their one-year returns differ by 5.0 points; NOCT is 1.6 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | NOCT | QBUF |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +9.0% | +4.0% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | QQQ | QQQ |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.79% | 0.79% |
| Net assets | $316m | $199m |
| 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
Jul 12, 2024 to Oct 30, 2026 · 120 weekly returns · each against QQQFrom Jul 2024 to Oct 2026, NOCT returned more: +26.6% to +19.8%. QBUF swung less: 7.7% to 9.0%. QBUF fell less at its worst: −8.0% to −11.2%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | NOCT | QBUF | QQQ | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +26.6% | +19.8% | NOCT | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +10.8% | +8.2% | NOCT | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | +26.6% | +19.8% | NOCT | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 9.0% | 7.7% | QBUF | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 6.0% | 5.4% | QBUF (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −11.2% | −8.0% | QBUF | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 30.2% | 21.7% | 100.0% | NOCT | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 49.2% | 39.2% | 100.0% | QBUF | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.41 | 0.33 | 1.00 | QBUF lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.86 | 0.77 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 0.72 | 0.52 | NOCT | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | 1.08 | 0.74 | NOCT | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | 0.160 | 0.122 | 0.129 | NOCT | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 0.96 | 1.02 | QBUF (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. | |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | QQQ | QQQ | QQQ | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +1.3% a year | −0.2% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.55 | −0.10 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −3.2% to +5.7% | −5.0% to +4.6% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −0.51 | −0.62 | NOCT | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 12.7% | 14.3% | 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, 120 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Window by window
| Total return | Gap to the reference's price return | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | NOCT | QBUF | NOCT | QBUF |
| 3 months | −1.0% | −1.8% | +2.6 pts | +1.8 pts |
| 6 months | +1.9% | −0.8% | +2.4 pts | −0.2 pts |
| 1 year | +9.0% | +4.0% | −2.7 pts | −7.7 pts |
| 3 years | +44.2% | – | −44.0 pts | – |
| Since launchNot the same days: NOCT Oct 2019 · QBUF Jul 2024 | +103.9% | +21.4% | −165.6 pts | −22.2 pts |
Each fund's gap is to its reference's price return, dividends left out: the basis the outcome period uses. – means no data for this window. Open this comparison in the app →
Side by side
As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
They do not reset together. QBUF has 57 days of its period left and NOCT has 330, 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
QBUF resets first, on Dec 31, 2026, 57 days from now; NOCT runs to Sep 30, 2027, 330 days. NOCT can still gain 22.4% before its cap, QBUF 6.7%. A fall from here reaches NOCT’s buffer after 0.0% and QBUF’s after 0.0%. Both track QQQ, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.
Client brief:
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NOCT
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 22.4% more before it reaches its cap. Protection left, in index points: 8.5% of the 15.0% buffer still sits below today's QQQ level. 330 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Sep 30, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
QBUF
From its price on Nov 4, 2026, the fund can gain about 6.7% more before it reaches its cap. Protection left, in index points: 3.5% of the 10.0% buffer still sits below today's QQQ level. 57 days remained on Nov 4, 2026. On Dec 31, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.
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.
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ETFIQ, NOCT against QBUF, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/noct-vs-qbuf
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). NOCT against QBUF. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/noct-vs-qbuf
[NOCT against QBUF (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/noct-vs-qbuf)
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