Innovator ETFs: Defined Outcomes. Relentless Innovation.
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Innovator ETFs: Defined Outcomes. Relentless Innovation.
Why Defined Outcome ETFs™?
Defined Outcome ETFs™ are revolutionary risk-managed investment solutions designed to provide a targeted level of downside protection, with upside participation to a cap, over an outcome period.
In a world of rising uncertainty, Defined Outcome investing offers a new way to stay invested with confidence.
Losing Less Matters More.
In addition to seeking to provide certainty, investing in the market with a built-in buffer can be powerful. Without a buffer, if your portfolio declines, it subsequently needs to gain more than it lost to get back to even. However, a portfolio with a buffer (of 9%, 15%, or 30%) needs far less of a gain to get back to even after experiencing loss.
IF YOUR PORTFOLIO LOSES:
5%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
You would need this subsequent return to break even:
No Buffer
5%
11%
25%
43%
67%
100%
9% Buffer
0%
1%
12%
27%
45%
69%
15% Buffer
0%
0%
5%
18%
33%
54%
30% Buffer (-5 to -35%)
5%
5%
5%
5%
11%
25%
For illustrative purposes only. Does not represent an actual investment There is no guarantee a fund will achieve its buffer objective.
Beyond the mathematics, one of the strongest benefits can be behavioral. Market downturns often prompt investors to sell prematurely, causing them to miss the subsequent recovery and undermine long-term returns. Studies of investor psychology have repeatedly shown that investors feel the pain of investment losses ˜2x as intensely as they feel the satisfaction of investment gains.1
By establishing a clearly defined range of outcomes at the outset of each period, Buffer ETFs may help investors remain committed to their strategy during periods of heightened volatility. This discipline‐staying invested through market cycles‐is a critical driver of long‐term wealth accumulation.
Hypothetical Growth of 10k S&P 500
Source: Morningstar. Data from 12/31/2006 - 12/31/2025. For illustrative purposes only. Not representative of any actual investment. This figure displays the growth of $10,000 from a hypothetical investment in the S&P 500 Index for an investor that either remained invested for the entire time frame or missed the number of best performing days noted along the y‐axis. Performance quoted represents past performance, which is no guarantee of future results. One cannot invest directly in an index. Index performance does not account for fees and expenses.
While Buffer ETFs™ offer a payoff profile similar to that of certain legacy wrappers, such as structured notes, they provide several distinct structural advantages inherent to the ETF wrapper:
ETF
STRUCTURED PRODUCTS
Liquidity & Daily Access
Intraday liquidity with no lock-up periods
Price transparency
Often subject to limited liquidity windows or multi-year lockups
May trade at opaque prices with significant bid/ask spreads
Cost Transparency
Clear, disclosed management fees
Expense prorated based on ETF holding period
Typically lower total cost of ownership
Embedded fees and spreads can potentially be difficult to identify
Often include both upfront and trailing commissions
Full cost upfront, no matter how long you hold
Simplicity & Tax Efficiency
Reduced operational complexity for the advisor
Eligible for tax-loss harvesting
No execution of documentation required to purchased
Reduces scalability by requiring additional documentation and indications of interest
Often less tax efficient
Counterparty Risk & Oversight
No direct issuer credit risk exposure
Assets held by qualified custodian
Daily transparency into holdings
Subject to issuer credit risk(bank or insurance company)
Return depends on issuer solvency
No ownership of underlying assets
Ultimately, determining whether an ETF or structured product would be more appropriate comes down to an investor's situation and personal preference. Additionally, fees and expenses can vary significantly across investments so investors should conduct a diligent review of an investment prior to purchase.
Tools To Build
 Your Portfolio
Innovator's industry‐leading suite of tools can be used to learn about Defined Outcome ETF® pricing, past performance, potential buying opportunities, and more.
ETF Pricing Icon
ETF Pricing
View fund share prices, caps, buffers and other trading information.
Potential Outcome Analyzer Icon
Potential Outcome Analyzer
Our most popular tool! See an ETF's expected outcome period return, given the range of potential outcome period returns of the reference asset.
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Timely Ideas
Search for strategies that may provide a timely entry point based on your preferred criteria.
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Alerts
Register for daily email notifications for when funds approach cap & buffer levels, meet performance milestones, and more.

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