CHICAGO, Aug. 20, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Innovator Capital Management, LLC (Innovator), pioneer and provider of the largest lineup of Defined Outcome ETFs^™, today announced the launch of its Innovator Hedged Nasdaq-100^® ETF (QHDG). It will be the first ETF designed to provide a hedged-equity approach to investing in the growth-focused Nasdaq-100 Index.

QHDG is built to serve investors who can’t afford to take on the market’s full downside risk, but who nonetheless need higher upside potential than bonds can offer. Investors with exposure to the Nasdaq-100 have benefited from its high-flying year-to-date returns, driven in large part by a continuing bull market and optimism around the growth potential of Artificial Intelligence. Over that same time period, however, the index experienced bouts of heightened volatility, leaving many investors anxious about a market correction.

“We have seen tremendous interest in protecting the gains investors have garnered in the Nasdaq,” said Bruce Bond, CEO at Innovator ETFs. “Following the latest stretch of volatility in August and looking ahead to the political uncertainty through the end of the year, hedged exposure to the Nasdaq-100 is a timely and intuitive solution.”

Demand for hedged-equity strategies has been strong in recent years; for the first time, investors will now have a way to implement this strategy on the Nasdaq-100 Index, one of the best-performing U.S. equity indexes over the past two decades.

QHDG is designed to provide investors a way to be exposed to the Nasdaq’s upside potential while dampening the effects of its downside risk. “Cutting-edge companies found in the Nasdaq-100 have high growth potential, but can also exhibit high levels of volatility,” noted Graham Day, CIO at Innovator ETFs. “We’re excited to be offering this evergreen risk-managed solution, enabling investors to maintain exposure to the Nasdaq-100’s high growth potential, but with the peace of mind that comes with less volatility.”

About Innovator

Innovator was established in 2017 by Bruce Bond and John Southard, founders of the PowerShares ETF lineup that has grown to be the fourth largest in the world. The listing of three Innovator Buffer ETFs^™ in August 2018 marked the creation of the world’s first Defined Outcome ETFs^™. Innovator is dedicated to providing ETFs with built-in risk management that offer investors a high level of predictability around their investment outcomes. Today, with more than 100 offerings, Innovator is the industry’s leading provider of Defined Outcome ETFs^™.

Media Contact
Frank Taylor / Stephanie Dressler
(646) 808-3647 / (949) 269-2535
frank@dlpr.com / stephanie@dlpr.com

There is no guarantee that the Fund will be successful in implementing its strategy to provide hedged market exposure. The Fund does not provide principal protection or non-principal protection, and an investor may experience significant losses on its investment, including the loss of its entire investment.

The Fund seeks to provide capital appreciation and a level of hedged downside protection.
The Fund will forego upside returns of the Nasdaq-100 Portfolio beyond the level of the strike price of each sold call option on the Underlying ETF over an Option Portfolio Period.
The Sub-Adviser will seek to construct the Options Portfolio contracts on the Underling ETF, which has a substantially similar investment exposure to the Nasdaq-100 Portfolio, any differences between the return of the Nasdaq-100 Portfolio versus that of the Underlying ETF may cause investors to not receive the full benefit of the hedging strategy, which is also not guaranteed.

FLEX Options Risk The Fund will utilize FLEX Options issued and guaranteed for settlement by the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC). In the unlikely event that the OCC becomes insolvent or is otherwise unable to meet its settlement obligations, the Fund could suffer significant losses. Additionally, FLEX Options may be less liquid than standard options. In a less liquid market for the FLEX Options, the Fund may have difficulty closing out certain FLEX Options positions at desired times and prices. The values of FLEX Options do not increase or decrease at the same rate as the reference asset and may vary due to factors other than the price of reference asset.

The Funds' investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses should be considered carefully before investing. The prospectus and summary prospectus contain this and other important information, and it may be obtained at innovatoretfs.com. Read it carefully before investing.
Innovator ETFs are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.

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