APRT vs ZALT

APRTBAllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer10 Apr ETF

ZALTAInnovator U.S. Equity 10 Buffer ETF - Quarterly

In short

APRT A 10% cushion on the S&P 500's price return, reset every April 1. APRT uses FLEX options to absorb the first slice of a decline across its 12-month period, and charges less than the typical buffer fund to do it.

ZALT The defined-outcome trade on a three-month clock: ZALT follows SPY up to a cap and buffers the first 10% of a decline, then resets both every quarter. Four fresh caps a year, at a fee under the shallow-buffer median.

Stated mandate

APRT The Fund seeks to provide shareholders holding for the full Outcome Period with protection against the first 10% of losses in the S&P 500 Price Index. It pursues this strategy primarily through FLEX Options referencing that index.

ZALT The fund seeks to follow SPY's return up to a predetermined cap while providing a 10% downside buffer over each three-month outcome period. It may be held indefinitely, with the defined outcomes resetting at the end of each period.

Why people hold it

• APRT The contract is plain: FLEX options on the S&P 500 Price Index, structured to absorb the first 10% of losses over the April 1 to March 31 outcome period.
• A 0.74% fee undercuts the median in its shallow-buffer peer group, unusual in a corner of the market where the options plumbing normally costs more.
• Running since 2020, so it has cycled through multiple complete buffer periods, including live equity drawdowns, rather than arriving as an untested launch.
• Sits in the top quartile of its shallow-buffer cohort, one of the stronger builds among 9% to 12% S&P 500 buffer funds.

• ZALT Resets on a quarterly clock: a new cap is set the first day of each calendar quarter and the 10% buffer starts over. Can be held indefinitely, no rolling into a new ticker.sec.govcboe.com
• At 0.69% it undercuts the going rate for 10% buffer funds on the S&P 500, where peers like SIXZ, JULT and BJUN charge 0.74% to 0.79%.
• The cushion is built from FLEX options on SPY itself, so the thing you are hedged against is the same fund most investors already watch.sec.gov
• Sits among the stronger implementations in its shallow-buffer peer group on cost and ease of trading.

Worth knowing

• APRT The reference is the S&P 500 Price Index, so dividends sit outside the math entirely. Both the buffer and the cap track price moves only.
• The stated terms apply to holders across the full April-to-March period. Buy mid-period and your actual cushion and remaining upside differ from the headline.
• A small fund that trades thinly, so spreads can run wider than the largest buffer names. It has also made no distributions over the past year.

• ZALT Three months of upside buys a lower ceiling. Each quarter's cap is priced off three-month options, so it lands well below what a 12-month buffer fund can offer.sec.gov
• Buy mid-quarter and you inherit whatever cap and buffer are left, not the full 10%. The prospectus says so plainly.sec.gov
• The fee comes out of the cushion: with the 0.69% fee counted, the prospectus puts the net buffer at 9.82% per period. No distributions so far, so return shows up in price.sec.gov

Full APRT profile⁠

Full ZALT profile⁠