Innovator Capital Management, LLC (Innovator) serves as an investment adviser specializing in defined outcome exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that provide investors with targeted upside exposure to equity benchmarks, often to a cap, alongside managed downside risk through options-based strategies including Flexible Exchange Options (FLEX Options); its core offerings encompass Buffer ETFs, Power Buffer ETFs, Ultra Buffer ETFs, and innovative Stacker ETFs such as the Innovator Double Stacker ETF – October (DSOC), which tracks cumulative returns from the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) up to a predetermined cap with downside exposure limited to SPY over a one-year outcome period, alongside related products like the Triple Stacker ETF – October (TSOC) and Double Stacker 9 Buffer ETF – October (DBOC). The firm targets financial advisors, institutional investors, and individual clients seeking structured equity solutions in large-cap, Nasdaq-100, and small-cap segments. Innovator operates primarily in the United States, with products listed on the Cboe BZX Exchange.
Founded in 2017 and headquartered at 200 W Front Street in Wheaton, Illinois, Innovator manages approximately $22.3 billion to $29 billion in assets under management as of late 2025 across over 150 ETFs, positioning it as a leader in the defined outcome ETF category.
In a major strategic development announced on December 1, 2025, Goldman Sachs agreed to acquire Innovator for approximately $2 billion in a cash-and-stock transaction expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, enhancing Goldman Sachs Asset Management's ETF capabilities and integrating Innovator's defined outcome solutions into its broader platform; this follows Innovator's pioneering launches of Stacker ETFs in October 2020 and ongoing expansions in dual-directional and outcome-based products as recently as November 2025.