Innovator Launches Equity Managed 100 Buffer ETF™ (Ticker: BFRZ) – A New Approach to 100% Downside Protection*

By: Innovator Capital Management via GlobeNewswire

May 13, 2025 at 09:30 AM EDT

WHEATON, Ill., May 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Innovator Capital Management, LLC (Innovator), pioneer and provider of the largest lineup of Defined Outcome ETFs™, today announced the launch of the Innovator Equity Managed 100 Buffer ETF™ (BFRZ). The ETF is designed to offer investors 100% downside protection, before fees and expenses, while maintaining exposure to U.S. large-cap equities.

BFRZ is sub-advised by Parametric, a leading provider of risk-managed strategies, and is constructed with a laddered options strategy that aims to provide positive returns in both up and down markets, lower volatility, and consistent capital preservation across full market cycles.

“We believe advisors seeking downside protection with upside potential will find greater value in an equity strategy with built-in 100% buffers than from bonds, active management or hedge funds,” said Graham Day, CIO of Innovator. “BFRZ was built to offer higher return potential and built-in downside protection compared to the unknown hedging capabilities of bonds, and the poor performance of various hedge funds.”

Key Features of BFRZ^†:

Seeks approximately 40% - 50% equity upside participation
100% laddered downside protection over one-year periods, before fees and expenses, with 1-year max loss at 1-3%.
Ability to generate positive returns in both positive and negative markets
Targets approximately one-third the volatility of the S&P 500

Ticker	Name	Expense Ratio	Sub- Adviser	Listed Date	Exchange
BFRZ	Innovator Equity Managed 100 Buffer ETF™	0.89%	Parametric	May 13, 2025	NYSE Arca

The launch of BFRZ expands Innovator’s growing lineup of Managed Outcome ETFs^®, offering investors new ways to navigate market volatility while pursuing capital preservation and growth.

For more information, please visit www.innovatoretfs.com or call 800.208.5212.

About Innovator Capital Management, LLC

Innovator was established in 2017 by Bruce Bond and John Southard, founders of the PowerShares ETF lineup that has grown to be the fourth largest in the world. The listing of three Innovator Buffer ETFs™ in August 2018 marked the launch of the world’s first Defined Outcome ETFs™.

Innovator is dedicated to providing ETFs with built-in risk management that seek to offer investors a high level of predictability around their investment outcomes. Today, with more than 150 ETFs and $24 billion in AUM, as of April 30, 2025, Innovator is the industry’s leading provider of Defined Outcome ETFs™.

Media Contact:

Frank Taylor

innovator@dlpr.com

(646) 808-3647

* Before fees and expenses.

^† There is no guarantee that the Fund will meet these strategy goals.

The Fund seeks to provide risk-managed investment exposure to the U.S. Large Capitalization Companies represented by the Solactive GBS United States 500 Index (Equity Index) through its hedging strategy. There is no guarantee that the Fund will be successful in providing risk-managed investment exposure to the Equity Index. The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by purchasing a series of put option contracts with “laddered” expiration dates, up to a year, that are three months apart. The Fund will also systemically sell short-dated call option contracts, which have an expiration date of approximately two weeks, with an objective of funding the purchases of put option contracts.

The Fund seeks to provide a series of “buffers” that each aim to protect the Fund against 100% of losses experienced by U.S. large-cap indices, as measured at the end of one-year periods and before fees and expenses. The implementation of the buffers is not guaranteed. As a result of the Fund’s laddered investment approach, on an ongoing basis the Fund will experience investment buffers that are expected to be greater or less than the 100% buffer sought-after by an individual Options Portfolio.

The Fund seeks to provide capital appreciation while seeking to limit the amount of losses experienced by investors. The Fund does not provide principal protection or non-principal protection, and an investor may experience losses on its investment. In a market environment where the Equity Index is generally appreciating, the Fund may underperform the Equity Index and/or similarly situated funds.

The Sub-Adviser will seek to “ladder” the Fund’s option contracts by entering into a new purchased put option contract packages every three-months. After a put option contract expires, the Fund will enter into a new put option contract with one-year expiration date that are staggered every three months.

Because the Fund ladders its option contracts and due to the Fund’s put option contracts having different terms (including expiration dates), different tranches of put option contracts may produce different returns, the effect of which may be to reduce the Fund’s sought-after protection. Therefore, at any given moment the Fund may not receive the benefit of the sought-after protection on losses that could have been available from an Options Portfolio with a single expiration date.

An investment in the Fund could involve significant risks not associated with an investment in bonds. The Fund is not equivalent to bonds.

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.

Investing involves risk. Loss of principal is possible. Innovator ETFs^® are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.

The Fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses should be considered carefully before investing. The prospectus and summary prospectus contain this and other important information, and it may be obtained at innovatoretfs.com. Read it carefully before investing.

The following marks: Accelerated ETFs^®, Accelerated Plus ETF^®, Accelerated Return ETFs^®, Barrier ETF^®, Buffer ETF™, Defined Income ETF™, Defined Outcome Bond ETF^®, Defined Outcome ETFs™, Defined Protection ETF^®, Define Your Future^®, Enhanced ETF™, Floor ETF^®, Innovator ETFs^®, Leading the Defined Outcome ETF Revolution™, Managed Buffer ETFs^®, Managed Outcome ETFs^®, Step-Up™, Step-Up ETFs^®, 100% Buffer ETFs™ and all related names, logos, product and service names, designs, and slogans are the trademarks of Innovator Capital Management, LLC, its affiliates or licensors. Use of these terms is strictly prohibited without proper written authorization.