Innovator ETFs Trust - Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - December (PDEC) is an exchange-traded fund that seeks to track the price return of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) up to a predetermined cap, while buffering investors against the first 15% of losses of SPY over a defined outcome period of approximately one year ending in December; the fund achieves this exposure primarily through investments in FLEX Options, which are customizable exchange-traded option contracts referencing SPY, along with holdings in U.S. large-cap stocks, cash equivalents, and other instruments comprising at least 80% of its net assets in such exposures; it is part of Innovator's broader suite of Defined Outcome ETFs, including monthly Power Buffer series (e.g., PJAN, PFEB through PDEC), income-focused strategies, growth-oriented products, and laddered allocation funds like BUFF, targeting institutional and individual investors seeking risk-managed equity participation.
Launched on November 29, 2019, PDEC is issued by Innovator ETFs Trust and managed by Innovator Capital Management, LLC, headquartered in Wheaton, Illinois, with co-management by Milliman Financial Risk Management LLC; the fund is domiciled in the United States and operates within the defined outcome ETF segment of the broader exchange-traded products industry, serving a global investor base through U.S. exchanges like Cboe BZX.
In a major strategic development announced on December 1, 2025, Innovator Capital Management agreed to be acquired by Goldman Sachs for approximately $2 billion in cash and equity, subject to performance targets, with the transaction expected to close in Q2 2026 and integrate Innovator's over 60 employees and 159 ETFs—managing $28 billion in assets under supervision as of September 30, 2025—into Goldman Sachs Asset & Wealth Management's ETF and third-party wealth platforms, significantly expanding its active ETF offerings without altering PDEC's current investment management or service providers.