ETF Evaluator: Innovator Eq Dfnd Prot ETF - 6Mo Jan/Jul (JAJL) Follow This ETF

Innovator Eq Dfnd Prot ETF - 6Mo Jan/Jul Overview

Innovator Eq Dfnd Prot ETF - 6Mo Jan/Jul (JAJL) is an actively managed Nontraditional Equity Defined Outcome exchange-traded fund (ETF). Innovator ETFs launched the ETF in 2024.

The investment seeks the fund seeks to provide investors with returns that match the upside price return of the SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust, up to the upside cap of 3.30% (prior to taking into account management fees and other fees) while providing a buffer against 100% of SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust losses (prior to taking into account management fees and other fees), over the period from January 1, 2026 through June 30, 2026. The fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in FLexible EXchange® Options (“FLEX Options”) that reference the SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust (the “Underlying ETF”). The fund is non-diversified.

About Innovator Eq Dfnd Prot ETF - 6Mo Jan/Jul (JAJL)

There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 1.22 years: Jeff Greco (2025), Maria Schiopu (2025), Robert Cummings (2024) and Rebekah Lipp (2025). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: S&P 500 (TR) (1970) index with a weighting of 100% and S&P 500 PR index with a weighting of 100%. Innovator Eq Dfnd Prot ETF - 6Mo Jan/Jul has 5 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 106.6% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

Innovator Eq Dfnd Prot ETF - 6Mo Jan/Jul is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the Nontraditional Equity ETF group. Innovator Eq Dfnd Prot ETF - 6Mo Jan/Jul has 0.4% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 99.2% There is 0.4% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Innovator Eq Dfnd Prot ETF - 6Mo Jan/Jul has 0.2% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $248 million in total assets, which is above the $185 million average for the Defined Outcome category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

JAJL Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Innovator Eq Dfnd Prot ETF - 6Mo Jan/Jul expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Defined Outcome category. Innovator Eq Dfnd Prot ETF - 6Mo Jan/Jul has an expense ratio of 0.79%, which is 9% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a B. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Innovator Eq Dfnd Prot ETF - 6Mo Jan/Jul has a portfolio turnover rate of 0%, which indicates that it holds its assets around /years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 3% for the Defined Outcome category.

Recently, in the month of June 2026, Innovator Eq Dfnd Prot ETF - 6Mo Jan/Jul returned 0.4%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Defined Outcome category had an average return of 0.1%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.

Innovator Eq Dfnd Prot ETF - 6Mo Jan/Jul has a trailing yield of 0.00%, which is below the 0.48% category average. The fund normally distributes its income annually and its capital gains annually.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

Innovator Eq Dfnd Prot ETF - 6Mo Jan/Jul Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 2.9%, 2.7 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 6.2% over the past year (grade of F).

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