ETF Evaluator: Innovator US Equity Ultra Buffer ETF-Sep () Follow This ETF

Innovator US Equity Ultra Buffer ETF-Sep Overview

Innovator US Equity Ultra Buffer ETF-Sep (USEP) is an actively managed Nontraditional Equity Defined Outcome exchange-traded fund (ETF). Innovator ETFs launched the ETF in 2019.

The investment seeks to provide investors with returns that match the price return of the SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust, up to the upside cap of 11.87% while providing a buffer against SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust losses of between 5% and 35% over the period from September 1, 2024 to August 31, 2025. The fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in FLexible EXchange® Options that reference the SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust. FLEX Options are exchange-traded options contracts with uniquely customizable terms. It is non-diversified.

About Innovator US Equity Ultra Buffer ETF-Sep (USEP)

There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 2.51 years: Jeff Greco (2025), Maria Schiopu (2025), Robert Cummings (2019) 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 US Equity Ultra Buffer ETF-Sep has 4 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 110.1% 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 US Equity Ultra Buffer ETF-Sep is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the Nontraditional Equity ETF group. Innovator US Equity Ultra Buffer ETF-Sep has 0.5% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 99.2% There is 0.5% 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 US Equity Ultra Buffer ETF-Sep has 0.3% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $148 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.

USEP 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 US Equity Ultra Buffer ETF-Sep expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Defined Outcome category. Innovator US Equity Ultra Buffer ETF-Sep 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 US Equity Ultra Buffer ETF-Sep 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 US Equity Ultra Buffer ETF-Sep returned 0.8%, which earned it a grade of A, 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 US Equity Ultra Buffer ETF-Sep has a trailing yield of 0.00%, which is below the 0.48% category average. The fund normally distributes its income 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 US Equity Ultra Buffer ETF-Sep Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 6.1%, 0.3 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 11.3% over the past year (grade of C), 11.8% over the past three years (grade of C) and 8.2% per year over the past five years (grade of D).

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