At a glance
QFLR charges 0.89% a year, above the 0.29% average of the 5 funds most like it (the most expensive of 6). It has $524.3M in assets, the 3rd largest of that group. Over the past year it returned +4.1% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%), the weakest of those 6 funds. Its ten largest positions make up 52.4% of the fund, out of 39 in all.
The short version
Innovator Nasdaq-100 Managed Floor ETF (QFLR) is an actively managed fund. It holds a sample of Nasdaq-100 stocks and adds a layer of options meant to limit losses over one-year periods. It costs 0.89% a year, far more than plain Nasdaq-100 funds such as QQQM at 0.15%. Its hedge has not yet been tested in a full bear market.
Price history
The interactive chart needs JavaScript.
QFLR +4.1% over the year to Oct 27, 2026, total return with distributions reinvested.
How it has behaved
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | Since start | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QFLR official prospectus, to Dec 31, 2024 | — | +17.61% | — | — | — | — |
| QFLR price data to Oct 27, 2026 | +3.7% | +4.1% | — | — | — | +13.5% |
- Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, QFLR returned +4.1%, 6th of 6 among similar funds.
- Its worst full calendar year was 2025 (+17.3%); its best was 2025 (+17.3%).
- The deepest fall in its price history was 14% (Dec 16, 2024 to Apr 8, 2025), recovered by Jul 10, 2025.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data | Prospectus (official) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +3.7% | — |
| 2025 | +17.3% | +17.14% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Before this security existed |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Before this security existed |
Dividends and income
Show as a table
| Year | Per share | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $0.0100 |
What's inside
As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 39 securities; the ten largest made up 52.36% of assets, and 4.73% sat in cash and money-market holdings.
| Holding | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA Corp | 8.91% | |
| Apple Inc | 8.19% | |
| Microsoft Corp | 6.74% | |
| Amazon.com Inc | 4.95% | |
| Micron Technology Inc | 4.35% | |
| Advanced Micro Devices Inc | 4.32% | |
| Walmart Inc | 4.21% | |
| Broadcom Inc | 3.82% | |
| Alphabet Inc | 3.55% | |
| Alphabet Inc | 3.32% | |
| Lam Research Corp | 3.17% | |
| Meta Platforms Inc | 3.04% | |
| Tesla Inc | 2.85% | |
| Automatic Data Processing Inc | 2.60% | |
| Cisco Systems Inc | 2.55% |
By country
United States 94.96%United Kingdom 0.46%Netherlands 0%By asset type
Stocks 95.42%By sector
Sectors of the companies held, for the 92.2% of the fund in companies that have a stock page here; other holdings and cash aren't classified. Source: N-PORT holdings report as of Jul 31, 2026. Cash, money-market funds and derivatives are shown separately from the securities list.What changed recently
- Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors added a net $23.2M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
- Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +4.03%, -0.29%, -4.36%.
How it works
Innovator Capital Management is the adviser. Parametric Portfolio Associates, the sub-adviser, runs the portfolio day to day. The stock side does not hold every Nasdaq-100 company. Instead it uses representative sampling: it holds a subset of the stocks, weighted so the returns stay close to the index. As of July 31, 2026, it held 39 stocks, led by NVIDIA (8.9%), Apple (8.2%), Microsoft (6.7%) and Amazon (4.9%). The top 10 made up 52% of assets. The manager keeps the overlap between its stocks and the assets behind its options below 70% to stay clear of the tax code's "straddle rules." As a result, some weights differ from the index.
The hedge is a ladder of put options, which are contracts that gain value when the market falls. The fund holds four one-year puts, mostly on QQQ, an ETF that tracks the Nasdaq-100. Their expiration dates are about three months apart, so part of the protection rolls over each quarter. The prospectus says each "floor" seeks to "limit losses to 10% of Nasdaq-100 losses," measured over one-year periods and before fees. The floors are not guaranteed.
To pay for the puts, the fund writes call options that last about two weeks, with a batch expiring every three to four days. Writing calls brings in cash but gives away gains above the calls' strike prices. The prospectus describes the fund's upside as uncapped, but the fund may still lag the index when the market rises sharply.
What it really costs
- QFLR charges 0.89% a year, versus an average of 0.29% for the similar funds below (6th of 6, cheapest first).
- Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $91 in the first year and $1,096 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).
| Cost of $10,000 (SEC example) | 1 yr | 3 yrs | 5 yrs | 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QFLR | $91 | $284 | $493 | $1,096 |
In a retirement portfolio
It is concentrated in large technology stocks, has a short record and charges a high fee, so it fits better as a small hedged position than as a core holding.
QFLR launched on January 25, 2024, so it missed the 2008, 2020 and 2022 downturns, and its hedge has not been tested in a long bear market. Its deepest drop was 14%, from December 16, 2024 to April 8, 2025. It recovered by July 10, 2025, about three months later. Its only full calendar year, 2025, returned 17.14%, according to its prospectus. The put floors aim to limit how far the fund can fall, which could matter to someone who has to cash out shares in a weak year, but the floors are not guaranteed. The fund paid no distributions in the year to October 27, 2026, so it adds little income. Its 0.89% expense ratio is about three times the 0.29% average of similar funds. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.
Who it may suit — and who should look elsewhere
May suit
- Investors who want Nasdaq-100 stocks like NVIDIA, Apple and Microsoft, with put options that aim to limit losses over one-year periods.
- Retirees worried about a sharp drop in tech-heavy holdings who will accept giving up some gains in rallies in exchange for a hedge.
- Investors who prefer a manager-run, laddered options hedge to buying and rolling protective puts themselves.
Look elsewhere if
- Cost-focused investors: its 0.89% expense ratio ranks 6th of 6 among similar funds, compared with 0.15% for QQQM.
- Investors who need income: the fund made no distributions in the year to October 27, 2026.
- Those wanting broad diversification: technology was 53.4% of sector-classified holdings and the top 10 holdings 52% of assets as of July 31, 2026.
Close alternatives
Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.
| Fund | Overlap | Cost | Net assets | 1 yr | 3 yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QFLR this fund | — | 0.89% | $524.3M | +4.1% | — |
| QTOP iShares Nasdaq Top 30 Stocks ETF | 68% | 0.2% | $300.0M | +16.1% | — |
| QQQM Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF | 65% | 0.15% | $104.38B | +8.8% | +24.1% |
| QTR Global X NASDAQ 100 Tail Risk ETF | 65% | 0.25% | $7.6M | +8.6% | +21.9% |
| QQQ Invesco QQQ Trust Series I | 65% | 0.2% | $490.10B | +8.8% | +24.0% |
| TUG STF Tactical Growth ETF | 65% | 0.65% | $34.3M | +16.4% | +25.0% |
Questions investors ask
Does QFLR pay dividends?
No, not in the 12 months to October 27, 2026. Its trailing yield was 0% over that period. The prospectus says the fund expects to pass along dividends from its stocks quarterly. However, Nasdaq-100 companies tend to pay small dividends, and a fund pays its expenses out of income first, so little may be left to pay out. QFLR is built for growth with downside hedging, not for regular cash payments.
What's the difference between QFLR and QQQ?
QQQ is a plain index fund. QFLR adds an options hedge and costs more. QQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100 and charges 0.20%. QFLR holds a sample of the same stocks, about 65% overlapping, plus put options to limit losses and short-term calls to pay for them, and it charges 0.89%. Over one year, QFLR returned 4.1% through October 27, 2026, while QQQ returned 10.8% through October 30, 2026. Global X NASDAQ 100 Tail Risk ETF (QTR), at 0.25%, is another hedged Nasdaq-100 fund worth comparing.
Is QFLR's downside protection guaranteed?
No. The prospectus says the fund seeks a series of floors that each "limit losses to 10% of Nasdaq-100 losses," measured over one-year periods and before fees, but it states that the floors are not guaranteed. The protection comes from one-year put options laddered about three months apart, so results depend on market moves and option prices. The fund has not been through a full bear market. Its deepest drop was 14%, from December 2024 to April 2025.
What is QFLR's expense ratio?
QFLR's expense ratio is 0.89%, according to its prospectus filed February 27, 2026, with no fee waiver. In the SEC's standard example, $10,000 invested at a 5% yearly return would cost about $91 after one year, $493 after five years and $1,096 after ten. That is the highest among the five similar funds compared here, which average 0.29%. QQQM charges 0.15% and QQQ 0.20%.
How has QFLR performed since launch?
QFLR has a short record with mixed results. The fund launched January 25, 2024. According to its prospectus, it returned 17.14% in 2025. Its strongest quarter was 10.76% (the third quarter of 2025) and its weakest was -7.26% (the first quarter of 2025). Based on price, it returned 4.1% over the year to October 27, 2026, last among six similar funds. Its one-year volatility, a measure of how much returns swing, was 13.8%.