“IAPR” – Innovator MSCI EAFE Power Buffer ETF – April: seeks to offer upside exposure to foreign developed markets stocks via EFA up to a cap, with a buffer against the first 15% of loss in EFA over annual outcome period
“EAPR” – Innovator MSCI Emerging Markets Power Buffer ETF – April: seeks to offer upside exposure to emerging markets stocks via EEM up to a cap, with a buffer against the first 15% of loss in EEM over annual outcome period
New upside caps and refreshed buffers for April series of the Power Buffer ETFs on Nasdaq-100 (NAPR), Russell 2000 (KAPR) and the S&P 500 Buffer ETFs (BAPR, PAPR, UAPR)
S&P 500 Buffer ETFs seek to provide S&P 500 exposure up to a cap, with downside buffer levels of 9%, 15% or 30% over one-year Outcome Period starting April 1
st
CHICAGO, April 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Innovator Capital Management, LLC (Innovator) today announced the launch of the latest series of the international equity Buffer ETF™ suite on the NYSE with the listing of the April series of the MSCI international equity Power Buffer ETFs™, the Innovator MSCI EAFE Power Buffer ETF™ – April (IAPR) and the Innovator MSCI Emerging Markets Power Buffer ETF™ – April (EAPR). IAPR and EAPR are options-based strategies that seek to buffer the first 15% of potential losses in foreign developed market stocks, via EFA (iShares MSCI EAFE ETF) for IAPR and emerging market equities, via EEM (iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF) for EAPR, while offering upside exposure to their reference asset, up to the cap listed below, over the coming 12-month period.
Additionally, Innovator announced the upside caps and return profiles for the existing April series of the Defined Outcome Buffer ETFs™, including the Innovator Nasdaq-100 Power Buffer ETF™ (NAPR) and the Innovator Russell 2000 Power Buffer ETF™ (KAPR) and the S&P 500 Buffer ETFs (BAPR, PAPR, UAPR). The return profiles for the seven ETFs in the April Buffer ETF™ series will span the year from today, April 1st, 2021 to March 31st 2022, aligning with many advisors’ quarterly rebalancing and portfolio management activities.
Return profiles for the Innovator Defined Outcome ETFs
™
– April series, as of 4/01/21
|
Ticker
|
Name
|
Buffer Level
|
Caps*
|
Outcome Period
|
|
NAPR
|
Innovator Nasdaq-100
Power Buffer ETF™ – April |
15.00% |
10.38% |
12 months
4/01/21 – 3/31/22 |
|
KAPR
|
Innovator Russell 2000
Power Buffer ETF™ – April |
15.00% |
11.15% |
12 months
4/01/21 – 3/31/22 |
|
IAPR
|
Innovator MSCI EAFE
Power Buffer ETF™ – April |
15.00% |
9.50% |
12 months
4/01/21 – 3/31/22 |
|
EAPR
|
Innovator MSCI Emerging Markets
Power Buffer ETF™ – April |
15.00% |
13.00% |
12 months
4/01/21 – 3/31/22 |
|
BAPR
|
Innovator S&P 500
Buffer ETF™ – April |
9.00% |
14.00% |
12 months
4/01/21 – 3/31/22 |
|
PAPR
|
Innovator S&P 500
Power Buffer ETF™ – April |
15.00% |
8.55% |
12 months
4/01/21 – 3/31/22 |
|
UAPR
|
Innovator S&P 500
Ultra Buffer ETF™ – April |
30.00%
(-5% to -35%) |
6.38% |
12 months
4/01/21 – 3/31/22 |
* The Caps above are shown gross of each fund’s management fee (.79% for all ETFs except IAPR (.85%) and EAPR (.89%)). “Cap” refers to the
maximum potential return, before fees and expenses and any shareholder transaction fees and any extraordinary expenses, if held over the full Outcome Period. “Buffer” refers to the amount of downside protection the fund seeks to provide, before fees and expenses, over the full Outcome Period. Outcome Period is the intended length of time over which the defined outcomes are sought. Upon fund launch, the Caps can be found on a daily basis via www.innovatoretfs.com.
“Advisors who are concerned about equity market risks look to our Defined Outcome Buffer ETFs™ to provide investors participation in equities’ potential upside yet risk mitigation in the event stocks don’t continue their remarkable climb since the coronavirus rebound began,” said Bruce Bond, CEO of Innovator ETFs. “With five resets across Innovator’s Buffer ETFs™, providing advisors with buffered exposure to core domestic equity markets, and two launches in our MSCI international equity Power Buffer ETF™ suite, the beginning of the second quarter is a big moment for the Defined Outcome ETF lineup.”
The April Power Buffer ETFs™ on the Nasdaq-100 (NAPR) and the Russell 2000 (KAPR) completed their first annual outcome period and reset at the end of the month. And the S&P 500 Buffer ETFs™ – Innovator S&P 500 Buffer ETF™ – April (BAPR), Innovator S&P 500 Power Buffer ETF™ – April (PAPR) and Innovator S&P 500 Ultra Buffer ETF™ – April (UAPR) – completed their second annual outcome period.
The ETFs reset annually and can be held indefinitely. For additional information on the April Series of Innovator equity Buffer ETFs™, visit the Innovator Defined Outcome ETF Pricing Tool.
Starting with the January series, in 2021, Innovator will be transitioning reference assets of the underlying options within its Defined Outcome Buffer ETFs™ to achieve the stated outcomes with ETF-based, or fund-based, options rather than index-based options. Innovator’s Equity Buffer ETFs™ have traditionally used index-based options while the Defined Outcome Bond ETFs and Stacker ETFs™ have been constructed using fund-based options. This change is intended to streamline market making and increase the operational efficiencies of the tax-efficient Buffer ETFs™ and will not materially impact shareholders. The Buffer ETFs™ will continue to draw from the same deeply liquid options markets pools that underpin the strategies, the level of the upside caps achieved should be unaffected and no tax event will be triggered given the options can be transferred in-kind. “These operational changes are intended to harness the power and efficiencies of the ETF wrapper even further for the benefit of our Defined Outcome Buffer ETF™ investors,” added Bond.
Innovator Defined Outcome ETFs – Benefits to Advisors
- Pioneer and creator of Defined Outcome ETFs™ with 65 ETFs and nearly $4.15 billion AUM across family1
-
Tax-efficient exposure to five broad equity benchmarks (S&P 500, NASDAQ-100, Russell 2000, MSCI EAFE, MSCI EM), the 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Market and now including the Stacker ETFs, the world’s first ETFs to offer a “stacked” exposure to two or three benchmark equity index ETFs on the upside, to a cap, with downside exposure to the S&P 500 only, and the Accelerated ETFs™, the world’s first ETFs to seek to offer a multiple of the upside return of a reference asset, up to a cap, with approximately single exposure on the downside.
-
Monthly issuance on the S&P 500 with three buffer levels (9,15, or 30%)
Innovator’s Defined Outcome ETFs™ are the subject of a patent application filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The Funds have characteristics unlike many other traditional investment products and may not be suitable for all investors. For more information regarding whether an investment in the Fund is right for you, please see “Investor Suitability” in the prospectus.
About Innovator Defined Outcome ETFs™
Defined Outcome ETFs™ are the world’s first ETFs that seek to provide investors with known ranges of future investment outcomes prior to investing. These outcome ranges include multiple and single upside exposure, to a cap, with defined levels of downside risk with buffers and floors over a set amount of time. The Innovator Defined Outcome ETFs™ cover a large spectrum of domestic and international equities and bonds. Innovator’s category-creating Defined Outcome ETF™ family includes Buffer ETFs™, Stacker ETFs™ and Floor ETFs™.
The Buffer ETFs™ seek to provide the upside performance of broadly recognized benchmarks (e.g., S&P 500, NASDAQ-100, Russell 2000, MSCI EAFE, and MSCI Emerging Markets, as well as the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT)) to a cap, with built-in buffers, over an outcome period of one year. The ETFs reset annually and can be held indefinitely.
Each Buffer ETF™ in Innovator’s Defined Outcome ETF™ suite seeks to provide a defined exposure to a broad market benchmark where the downside buffer level, upside growth potential to a cap, and Outcome Period are all known, prior to investing. In 2019, Innovator began expanding its suite of S&P 500 Buffer ETFs™ into a monthly series to provide investors more opportunities to purchase shares as close to the beginning of their respective Outcome Periods as possible.
Investors can purchase shares of a previously listed Defined Outcome ETF™ throughout the entire Outcome Period, obtaining a current set of defined outcome parameters, which are disclosed daily through a web tool available at: http://innovatoretfs.com/define.
Innovator is focused on delivering defined outcome-based solutions inside the benefit-rich ETF wrapper, retaining many of the features that have contributed to the success of structured products2 (e.g., downside buffer levels, upside participation, defined outcome parameters), but with the added benefits of transparency, liquidity, the elimination of credit risk and lower costs afforded by the ETF structure.
About Innovator Capital Management, LLC
Awarded ETF.com’s “ETF Issuer of the Year – 2019”, Innovator Capital Management LLC (Innovator) is an SEC-registered investment advisor (RIA) based in Wheaton, IL. Formed in 2014, the firm is currently headed by ETF visionaries Bruce Bond and John Southard, founders of one of the largest ETF providers in the world. Bond and Southard reentered the asset management industry to bring to market first-of-their-kind investment opportunities, including the Defined Outcome ETFs™, products that they felt would change the investing landscape and bring more certainty to the financial planning process. Innovator’s category-creating Defined Outcome ETF™ family includes Buffer ETFs™, Stacker ETFs™ and Floor ETFs. Buffer ETFs™ and Floor ETFs™ seek to provide investors structured exposures to broad markets, where the upside growth potential, buffer or floor against the downside, and outcome period are all known, prior to investing. Stacker ETFs™ are the world’s first ETFs to offer a multiple or “stacked” exposure to two or three benchmark index ETFs (SPY, QQQ, IWM) to a cap, with only downside exposure to the SPY over a one year outcome period. Having launched the first Defined Outcome ETFs™ in 2018 — the flagship Innovator S&P 500 Buffer ETF™ Suite – Innovator’s solutions allow advisors to construct diversified portfolios with known outcome ranges to aid in risk management and financial planning. Built on a foundation of innovation and driven by a commitment to help investors better control their financial outcomes, Innovator is leading the Defined Outcome ETF Revolution™. For additional information, visit www.innovatoretfs.com.
About Cboe Global Markets, Inc.
Cboe Global Markets (Cboe: CBOE) is one of the world’s largest exchange-holding companies, offering cutting-edge trading and investment solutions to investors around the world. For more information, visit www.cboe.com.
About Milliman Financial Risk Management LLC
Milliman Financial Risk Management LLC (Milliman FRM) is a global leader in financial risk management to the retirement industry, providing investment advisory, hedging, and consulting services on approximately $150 billion in global assets as of December 31, 2020. Milliman FRM is one of the largest and fastest-growing subadvisors of ETFs. For more information about Milliman FRM, visit www.Milliman.com/FRM.
Media Contact
Paul Damon
+1 (802) 999-5526
[email protected]
Interim Period Shareholders
Unlike structured notes, which offer limited liquidity, Innovator Defined Outcome ETFs™ trade throughout the day on an exchange, like a stock. As a result, investors purchasing shares of a Fund after its launch date may achieve a different payoff profile than those who entered the Fund on day one. Innovator recognizes this as a benefit of the Funds and provides a web-based tool that allows investors to know, in real-time throughout the trading day, their potential defined outcome return profile before they invest, based on the current ETF price and the Outcome Period remaining. Innovator’s web tool can be accessed at http://www.innovatoretfs.com/define.
Although each Fund seeks to achieve the defined outcomes stated in its investment objective, there is no guarantee that it will do so. The returns that the Funds seek to provide do not include the costs associated with purchasing shares of the Fund and certain expenses incurred by the Fund.
Investing involves risks. Loss of principal is possible. The Funds face numerous market trading risks, including active markets risk, authorized participation concentration risk, buffered loss risk, cap change risk, capped upside return risk, correlation risk, liquidity risk, management risk, market maker risk, market risk, non-diversification risk, operation risk, options risk, trading issues risk, upside participation risk and valuation risk. For a detail list of fund risks see the prospectus.
Market Disruptions Resulting from COVID-19. The outbreak of COVID-19 has negatively affected the worldwide economy, individual countries, individual companies and the market in general. The future impact of COVID-19 is currently unknown, and it may exacerbate other risks that apply to the Fund.
Foreign and Emerging Markets Risk Non-U.S. securities and Emerging Markets are subject to higher volatility than securities of domestic issuers due to possible adverse political, social or economic developments, restrictions on foreign investment or exchange of securities, lack of liquidity, currency exchange rates, excessive taxation, government seizure of assets, different legal or accounting standards, and less government supervision and regulation of securities exchanges in foreign countries.
Technology Sector Risk Companies in the technology sector are often smaller and can be characterized by relatively higher volatility in price performance when compared to other economic sectors. They can face intense competition, which may have an adverse effect on profit margins.
Small-Cap Risk Small-cap companies may be more volatile and susceptible to adverse developments than their mid- and large-cap counterpart. In addition, the small-cap companies may be less liquid than larger companies.
FLEX Options Risk The Fund will utilize FLEX Options issued and guaranteed for settlement by the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC). In the unlikely event that the OCC becomes insolvent or is otherwise unable to meet its settlement obligations, the Fund could suffer significant losses. Additionally, FLEX Options may be less liquid than standard options. In a less liquid market for the FLEX Options, the Fund may have difficulty closing out certain FLEX Options positions at desired times and prices. The values of FLEX Options do not increase or decrease at the same rate as the reference asset and may vary due to factors other than the price of reference asset.
These Funds are designed to provide point-to-point exposure to the price return of the Reference Asset via a basket of Flex Options. As a result, the ETFs are not expected to move directly in line with the Reference Asset during the interim period.
Investors purchasing shares after an outcome period has begun may experience very different results than funds’ investment objective. Initial outcome periods are approximately 1-year beginning on the funds’ inception date. Following the initial outcome period, each subsequent outcome period will begin on the first day of the month the fund was incepted. After the conclusion of an outcome period, another will begin.
Fund shareholders are subject to an upside return cap (the “Cap”) that represents the maximum percentage return an investor can achieve from an investment in the funds’ for the Outcome Period, before fees and expenses. If the Outcome Period has begun and the Fund has increased in value to a level near to the Cap, an investor purchasing at that price has little or no ability to achieve gains but remains vulnerable to downside risks. Additionally, the Cap may rise or fall from one Outcome Period to the next. The Cap, and the Fund’s position relative to it, should be considered before investing in the Fund. The Funds’ website, www.innovatoretfs.com, provides important Fund information as well information relating to the potential outcomes of an investment in a Fund on a daily basis.
The Funds with buffer mechanisms only seek to provide shareholders that hold shares for the entire Outcome Period with their respective buffer level against Reference Asset losses during the Outcome Period. You will bear all Reference Asset losses exceeding 9, 15 or 30%. Depending upon market conditions at the time of purchase, a shareholder that purchases shares after the Outcome Period has begun may also lose their entire investment. For instance, if the Outcome Period has begun and the Fund has decreased in value beyond the pre-determined buffer, an investor purchasing shares at that price may not benefit from the buffer. Similarly, if the Outcome Period has begun and the Fund has increased in value, an investor purchasing shares at that price may not benefit from the buffer until the Fund’s value has decreased to its value at the commencement of the Outcome Period.
Nasdaq® is a registered trademark of Nasdaq, Inc. (which with its affiliates is referred to as the “Corporations”) and is licensed for use by Innovator Capital Management, LLC. The Product(s) have not been passed on by the Corporations as to their legality or suitability. The Product(s) are not issued, endorsed, sold, or promoted by the Corporations.
THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO WARRANTIES AND BEAR NO LIABILITY WITH RESPECT TO THE PRODUCT(S).
The Innovator Russell 2000 Power Buffer ETF™ (the “Fund”) has been developed solely by Innovator Capital Management, LLC. The “Fund” is not in any way connected to or sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by the London Stock Exchange Group plc and its group undertakings (collectively, the “LSE Group”). FTSE Russell is a trading name of certain of the LSE Group companies. All rights in the Russell 2000 Index (the “Index”) vest in the relevant LSE Group company, which owns the Index. “FTSE®” “Russell®”, and “FTSE Russell®” are trade marks of the relevant LSE Group company and are used by any other LSE Group company under license.
The Index is calculated by or on behalf of FTSE International Limited or its affiliate, agent or partner. The LSE Group does not accept any liability whatsoever to any person arising out of (a) the use of, reliance on or any error in the Index or (b) investment in or operation of the Fund. The LSE Group makes no claim, prediction, warranty or representation either as to the results to be obtained from the Fund or the suitability of the Index for the purpose to which it is being put by Innovator Capital Management, LLC.
The ETFs referred to herein is not sponsored, endorsed, or promoted by MSCI Inc. or based upon the MSCI EAFE and MSCI Emerging Markets Indexes. MSCI Inc. bears no liability with respect to the ETFs.
MSCI, MSCI EAFE, and MSCI Emerging Markets are trademarks or service marks of MSCI Inc. or its affiliates (“Marks”) and are used hereto subject to license from MSCI. All goodwill and use of Marks inures to the benefit of MSCI and its affiliates. No other use of the Marks is permitted without a license from MSCI
.
Cboe Global Markets, Inc., and its affiliates do not recommend or make any representation as to possible Benefits from any securities, futures or investments, or third-party products or services. Cboe Global Markets, Inc., is not affiliated with S&P DJI, Milliman, or Innovator Capital Management. Investors should undertake their own due diligence regarding their securities, futures and investment practices.
Cboe Global Markets, Inc., and its affiliates make no warranty, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, any warranties as of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, completeness or timeliness, or as to the results to be obtained by recipients of the products.
Innovator ETFs™, Defined Outcome ETF™, Buffer ETF™, Enhanced ETF™, Define Your Future™, Leading the Defined Outcome ETF Revolution™ and other service marks and trademarks related to these marks are the exclusive property of Innovator Capital Management, LLC.
The Funds’ investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses should be considered before investing. The prospectus contains this and other important information, and it may be obtained at innovatoretfs.com. Read it carefully before investing.
Innovator ETFs are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.
Copyright © 2021 Innovator Capital Management, LLC.
800.208.5212
_____________________________________________
1 AUM in all Innovator Defined Outcome ETFs as of 3.31.2021.
2 Structured notes and structured annuities are financial instruments designed and created to afford investors exposure to an underlying asset through a derivative contract. It is important to note that these ETFs are not structured notes or structured annuities.
