AUGT vs SIXJ

AUGTCAllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer10 Aug ETF

SIXJBAllianzIM U.S. Equity 6 Month Buffer10 Jan/Jul ETF

In short

AUGT A one-year seatbelt on the S&P 500. It absorbs the first 10% of the decline in the big S&P 500 ETF it references and gives up gains above a cap that resets annually, all for 0.74% a year, below the shallow-buffer median.

SIXJ Most buffer ETFs lock you into a 12-month cycle. SIXJ runs a six-month one, resetting each January and July: it tracks SPY's share-price move, absorbs the first 10% of losses, and takes a fresh upside cap twice a year.

Stated mandate

AUGT The fund seeks to match SPY’s share-price return over a one-year outcome period, subject to an upside cap and protection against the first 10% of SPY losses.

SIXJ The Fund seeks to match the share-price return of SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust over a six-month outcome period, subject to an upside cap and protection against the first 10% of losses.

Why people hold it

• AUGT At 0.74% it undercuts the 0.79% median for shallow-buffer funds, including August-dated peer BAUG. Fee drag comes straight out of the cap you get.
• The reference is the S&P 500 ETF itself, not an abstract index, and the buffer absorbs the first 10% of its share-price decline over the outcome period.
• AllianzIM runs the same 10% structure in other calendar months (JULT, SEPT, OCTT) at the same fee, and this one sits in the upper half of its peer group.

• SIXJ The 10% buffer and the cap reset every January 1 and July 1, so terms refresh twice a year instead of on the usual annual clock.
• 0.74% expense ratio, on the lean side for a defined-outcome fund and below the typical fee among its shallow-buffer peers.
• The reference asset is SPY itself, the original S&P 500 ETF, so the payoff is keyed to a plain vanilla benchmark rather than a bespoke index.
• Rates among the stronger implementations in a crowded shallow-buffer field, alongside AllianzIM's other six-month siblings like SIXZ and SIXD.

Worth knowing

• AUGT The cap is reset for each new outcome period off option prices at the time, so the ceiling shifts from year to year and is not known in advance.
• Buy mid-period and you inherit whatever buffer and cap remain, not the headline 10%. The stated terms describe a hold from one reset to the next.
• Thinly traded on a small asset base, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than in the giants of the buffer aisle.

• SIXJ Buffer and cap are designed to work over the full six-month period. Buy mid-period and you get whatever cushion and upside room remain at that moment.
• It tracks SPY's share-price return, so dividends aren't passed through and the fund isn't structured to pay income.
• Volume is light next to the largest buffer funds, so bid-ask spreads can run wider, especially in fast-moving markets.

Full AUGT profile⁠

Full SIXJ profile⁠