LJUL vs. BDEC

Last updated Apr 4, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about Innovator Premium Income 15 Buffer ETF - July (LJUL) and Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - December (BDEC).

LJUL and BDEC are both exchange-traded funds (ETFs), meaning they are traded on stock exchanges and can be bought and sold throughout the day. LJUL is an actively managed fund by Innovator. It was launched on Jun 28, 2024. BDEC is a passively managed fund by Innovator that tracks the performance of the Cboe S&P 500 Buffer Protect Index December. It was launched on Nov 29, 2019.

Performance

LJUL vs. BDEC - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in Innovator Premium Income 15 Buffer ETF - July (LJUL) and Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - December (BDEC). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

LJUL vs. BDEC - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024
LJUL Innovator Premium Income 15 Buffer ETF - July	0.83%	5.91%	3.27%
BDEC Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - December	-2.47%	14.96%	2.70%

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, LJUL achieves a 0.83% return, which is significantly higher than BDEC's -2.47% return.

LJUL

• 1D: 0.03%
• 1M: 0.23%
• YTD: 0.83%
• 6M: 2.16%
• 1Y: 6.21%
• 3Y*: —
• 5Y*: —
• 10Y*: —

BDEC

• 1D: 0.06%
• 1M: -3.00%
• YTD: -2.47%
• 6M: 0.49%
• 1Y: 18.84%
• 3Y*: 12.51%
• 5Y*: 8.58%
• 10Y*: —

*Multi-year figures are annualized to reflect compound growth (CAGR)

LJUL vs. BDEC - Expense Ratio Comparison

Both LJUL and BDEC have an expense ratio of 0.79%.

LJUL

Innovator Premium Income 15 Buffer ETF - July

BDEC

Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - December

Return for Risk

LJUL vs. BDEC — Risk / Return Rank

Compare risk-adjusted metric ranks to identify better-performing investments over the past 12 months.

LJUL

LJUL Risk / Return Rank: 80
LJUL Sharpe Ratio Rank: 74
LJUL Sortino Ratio Rank: 83
LJUL Omega Ratio Rank: 95
LJUL Calmar Ratio Rank: 55
LJUL Martin Ratio Rank: 94

BDEC

BDEC Risk / Return Rank: 61
BDEC Sharpe Ratio Rank: 58
BDEC Sortino Ratio Rank: 62
BDEC Omega Ratio Rank: 66
BDEC Calmar Ratio Rank: 52
BDEC Martin Ratio Rank: 65

The rank (0–100) shows how this investment's returns compare to the risk taken. Higher = better. Based on the past 12 months of data, combining Sharpe, Sortino, and other metrics used by quantitative funds and institutional investors.

LJUL vs. BDEC - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for Innovator Premium Income 15 Buffer ETF - July (LJUL) and Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - December (BDEC). Risk-adjusted metrics are performance indicators that assess an investment's returns in relation to its risk, enabling a more accurate comparison of different investment options.

	LJUL	BDEC	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	1.42	1.10	+0.31
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	2.29	1.67	+0.62
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	1.49	1.26	+0.24
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	1.77	1.69	+0.09
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	16.27	8.27	+8.00
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

LJUL vs. BDEC - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current LJUL Sharpe Ratio is 1.42, which is comparable to the BDEC Sharpe Ratio of 1.10. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of LJUL and BDEC, calculated using daily returns over the previous 12 months. A higher Sharpe Ratio indicates better risk-adjusted performance relative to the risk-free rate.

Sharpe Ratios by Period

	LJUL	BDEC	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	1.42	1.10	+0.31
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	—	0.72	—
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	1.70	0.70	+1.00

Correlation

The correlation between LJUL and BDEC is 0.75, which is considered to be high. That indicates a strong positive relationship between their price movements. Having highly-correlated positions in a portfolio may signal a lack of diversification, potentially leading to increased risk during market downturns.

Dividends

LJUL vs. BDEC - Dividend Comparison

LJUL's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 5.29%, while BDEC has not paid dividends to shareholders.

	TTM	2025	2024
LJUL Innovator Premium Income 15 Buffer ETF - July	5.29%	5.36%	2.78%
BDEC Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - December	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%

Drawdowns

LJUL vs. BDEC - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum LJUL drawdown since its inception was -3.21%, smaller than the maximum BDEC drawdown of -25.60%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for LJUL and BDEC.

Drawdown Indicators

	LJUL	BDEC	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-3.21%	-25.60%	+22.39%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-1.08%	-6.52%	+5.44%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	—	-16.44%	—
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	0.00%	-3.91%	+3.91%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-0.13%	-3.12%	+2.99%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	0.35%	1.84%	-1.49%

Volatility

LJUL vs. BDEC - Volatility Comparison

The current volatility for Innovator Premium Income 15 Buffer ETF - July (LJUL) is 0.76%, while Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - December (BDEC) has a volatility of 3.87%. This indicates that LJUL experiences smaller price fluctuations and is considered to be less risky than BDEC based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	LJUL	BDEC	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	0.76%	3.87%	-3.11%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	1.30%	7.22%	-5.92%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	3.96%	13.46%	-9.50%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	3.39%	11.94%	-8.55%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	3.39%	14.40%	-11.01%