ETF Evaluator: Innovator Nasdaq-100 10 Buffr ETF - Qt () Follow This ETF

Innovator Nasdaq-100 10 Buffr ETF - Qt Overview

Innovator Nasdaq-100 10 Buffr ETF - Qt (QBUF) is an actively managed Nontraditional Equity Defined Outcome exchange-traded fund (ETF). Innovator ETFs launched the ETF in 2024.

The investment seeks capital appreciation with a measure of downside protection by providing investors with returns that match the return of the underlying ETF, up to the upside cap of 5.97% (prior to taking into account management fees and other fees) while seeking to provide a buffer against the first 10% (prior to taking into account management fees and other fees) of underlying ETF losses, over the period from July 1, 2026 to September 30, 2026. The fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in FLexible EXchange® Options that reference the Invesco QQQ TrustSM, Series 1. -null-. The fund is non-diversified.

About Innovator Nasdaq-100 10 Buffr ETF - Qt (QBUF)

There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 1.30 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: NASDAQ 100 TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and NASDAQ 100 PR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Innovator Nasdaq-100 10 Buffr ETF - Qt has 4 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 104.8% 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 Nasdaq-100 10 Buffr ETF - Qt is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the Nontraditional Equity ETF group. Innovator Nasdaq-100 10 Buffr ETF - Qt has 2.7% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 97.2% There is 2.7% 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 Nasdaq-100 10 Buffr ETF - Qt has 0.1% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $162 million in total assets, which is below the $183 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.

QBUF 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 Nasdaq-100 10 Buffr ETF - Qt expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Defined Outcome category. Innovator Nasdaq-100 10 Buffr ETF - Qt has an expense ratio of 0.79%, which is 10% 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 Nasdaq-100 10 Buffr ETF - Qt 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 July 2026, Innovator Nasdaq-100 10 Buffr ETF - Qt returned -2.0%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Defined Outcome category had an average return of 0.2%. 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 Nasdaq-100 10 Buffr ETF - Qt 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 Nasdaq-100 10 Buffr ETF - Qt Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 2.9%, 3.0 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 7.8% over the past year (grade of D).

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