At a glance
SFLR charges 0.89% a year, above the 0.1% average of the 8 funds most like it (the most expensive of 9). It has $2.12B in assets, the 7th largest of that group; it paid 0.23% of its price in distributions over the past 12 months, quarterly. Over the past year it returned +7.8% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%), the weakest of those 9 funds; over three years it returned +17.2% a year. Its ten largest positions make up 37.9% of the fund, out of 188 in all.
The short version
Innovator Equity Managed Floor ETF (SFLR) is an actively managed fund. It holds large U.S. stocks drawn from the Solactive GBS United States 500 Index and adds options meant to limit losses. It buys put options to set a series of loss “floors” and pays for them partly by selling short-dated call options, which can trim gains. Its fee of 0.89% a year is far above plain large-cap index funds.
Price history
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SFLR +7.8% 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFLR official prospectus, to Dec 31, 2024 | — | +13.31% | — | — | — | +17.21% |
| SFLR price data to Oct 27, 2026 | +7.3% | +7.8% | +17.2% | — | — | +15.8% |
- Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, SFLR returned +7.8%, 9th of 9 among similar funds.
- Its worst full calendar year was 2025 (+13.3%); its best was 2023 (+21.2%).
- The deepest fall in its price history was 12.1% (Feb 19, 2025 to Apr 8, 2025), recovered by Jul 9, 2025.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data | Prospectus (official) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +7.3% | — |
| 2025 | +13.3% | +13.31% |
| 2024 | +20.0% | +19.84% |
| 2023 | +21.2% | +21.13% |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | $0.0700 | |
| 2025 | $0.1200 | -14.3% |
| 2024 | $0.1400 | -54.8% |
| 2023 | $0.3100 |
What's inside
As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 188 securities; the ten largest made up 37.91% of assets, and 2.66% sat in cash and money-market holdings.
| Holding | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA Corp | 7.35% | |
| Apple Inc | 7.04% | |
| Microsoft Corp | 4.95% | |
| Amazon.com Inc | 4.19% | |
| Alphabet Inc | 3.27% | |
| Broadcom Inc | 2.97% | |
| Alphabet Inc | 2.83% | |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co | 1.80% | |
| Meta Platforms Inc | 1.78% | |
| Micron Technology Inc | 1.73% | |
| Eli Lilly & Co | 1.70% | |
| Advanced Micro Devices Inc | 1.48% | |
| Tesla Inc | 1.39% | |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1.34% | |
| Berkshire Hathaway Inc | 1.32% |
By country
United States 96.78%Ireland 0.7%Bermuda 0.16%Sweden 0.12%Uruguay 0.11%By asset type
Stocks 97.96%By sector
Sectors of the companies held, for the 86.2% 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 $402.7M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
- Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +5.25%, -0.48%, -0.71%.
How it works
Innovator Capital Management is the adviser, and Parametric Portfolio Associates runs the portfolio as sub-adviser. The stocks come from the Solactive GBS United States 500 Index. That index holds the 500 largest U.S. companies, weighted by the market value of their freely traded shares, and is rebalanced every quarter. The fund doesn't own every name. As of July 31, 2026, it held 188 stocks, led by NVIDIA (7.3%), Apple (7.0%) and Microsoft (5.0%). It adjusts weights to track the index closely while keeping the overlap with its options below 70% for tax reasons.
The hedge is a ladder of four one-year put options, with expiration dates about three months apart. A put option is a contract that gains value when the market falls. Each put aims to set a “floor” that limits losses to 10%, measured against the U.S. large-cap market at the end of one-year periods and before fees. To help pay for the puts, the fund sells two-week call options, with a batch expiring every three to four days.
This creates two trade-offs. Selling calls can give up part of the gains in strong rallies, even though the prospectus describes the fund's upside as uncapped. And the floors are not guaranteed. Losses partway through a period can run deeper than 10%, as the fund's 12.1% drop in early 2025 showed.
What it really costs
- SFLR charges 0.89% a year, versus an average of 0.1% for the similar funds below (9th of 9, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFLR | $91 | $284 | $493 | $1,096 |
In a retirement portfolio
It holds large U.S. stocks but uses put options to try to limit losses, so its swings have been smaller than the market's (a one-year beta of 0.7), at the cost of some growth.
SFLR could serve as a steadier slice of a stock allocation for someone who may need to sell shares during a downturn. It launched on November 9, 2022, so it was not around for the 2008 crisis, the 2020 crash or the 2022 bear market. Its deepest drop was 12.1%, from February 19 to April 8, 2025. It recovered by July 9, 2025, about three months later. Its weakest calendar year, 2025, still ended with a 13.31% gain.
That cushion has cost growth. In the three years to October 27, 2026, it returned 17.2% a year. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) returned 24.9% a year over three years as of October 29, 2026. Income is minimal: a 0.23% yield, paid quarterly. In the SEC's standard example, costs on $10,000 would total $1,096 over 10 years. 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 large U.S. stocks with an options hedge that aims to limit one-year losses, and who accept giving up some gains.
- Holders who value smaller swings: as of October 27, 2026, its three-year volatility was 10% and its one-year beta (sensitivity to the market) was 0.7.
- People worried about selling in a slump: its deepest drop, 12.1% in early 2025, was recovered in about three months.
Look elsewhere if
- Cost-focused investors: its 0.89% expense ratio ranks 9th of 9 among similar funds, which average about 0.10%.
- Investors seeking income: its trailing yield was 0.23% as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly.
- Those wanting full market gains or a hedge tested in a deep bear market: it launched in November 2022 and trailed VOO over three years.
Close alternatives
Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.
| Fund | Overlap | Cost | Net assets | 1 yr | 3 yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFLR this fund | — | 0.89% | $2.12B | +7.8% | +17.2% |
| BKLC BNY Mellon US Large Cap Core Equity ETF | 68% | 0% | $5.47B | +13.4% | +25.4% |
| BBUS JPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Equity ETF | 68% | 0.02% | $8.89B | +13.0% | +24.8% |
| USPX Franklin U.S. Equity Index ETF | 66% | 0.03% | $1.98B | +12.9% | +24.9% |
| ONOF Global X Adaptive U.S. Risk Management ETF | 66% | 0.39% | $141.7M | +9.4% | +15.9% |
| SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | 65% | 0.0945% | $781.19B | +11.5% | +21.9% |
| IVV iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | 65% | 0.03% | $888.13B | +11.5% | +22.0% |
| VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | 65% | 0.03% | $1.67T | +12.4% | +23.6% |
Questions investors ask
Is SFLR good for retirement?
It may suit retirees who want U.S. stocks with a cushion against large losses and can accept slower growth. SFLR uses put options to try to limit losses to 10% over one-year periods, before fees and without a guarantee. Its deepest drop was 12.1% in early 2025, and it recovered in about three months. However, its 17.2% yearly return over the three years to October 27, 2026, trailed plain S&P 500 funds, and it charges 0.89% a year.
What's the difference between SFLR and VOO?
The main differences are SFLR's options hedge and its cost. VOO tracks the S&P 500 for 0.03% a year. SFLR holds a similar but adjusted basket of large U.S. stocks, about 65% overlapping with VOO. It adds bought puts and sold calls and charges 0.89%. The hedge has cost growth. As of October 29, 2026, VOO returned 13.2% over one year and 24.9% a year over three. As of October 27, 2026, SFLR returned 7.8% and 17.2%.
Is the SFLR 10% floor guaranteed?
No. The prospectus says the floors are not guaranteed. SFLR holds four one-year put options with expiration dates about three months apart. Each aims to limit losses to 10%, measured at the end of its one-year period and before fees. Because each floor applies over its own year, losses partway through a period can be deeper. The fund fell 12.1% between February 19 and April 8, 2025, then recovered by July 9, 2025.
Does SFLR pay dividends?
Yes, it pays quarterly, but the amounts are small. The fund passes along dividends from the stocks it holds every quarter. Over the 12 months to October 27, 2026, it paid about $0.09 per share, a yield of 0.23%. The fund's 0.89% expense ratio comes out of fund assets, which also reduces what reaches shareholders. Investors looking mainly for income from a stock fund would likely find this yield too low for that role.
What is SFLR's expense ratio?
SFLR's expense ratio is 0.89% a year, according to its prospectus filed February 27, 2026. That is far above the roughly 0.10% average of similar large-cap funds, and SFLR ranks 9th of 9 on cost. Plain index funds such as VOO and IVV charge 0.03%. Global X Adaptive U.S. Risk Management ETF (ONOF), another risk-managed fund, charges 0.39%. In the SEC's standard example, $10,000 would incur $91 in costs after one year and $1,096 over 10 years.