AUGZ vs SIXJ

AUGZDTrueShares Structured Outcome (August) ETF

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

In short

AUGZ TrueShares pioneered the uncapped buffer format in 2020, and AUGZ is the August entry: it buffers the first 8% to 12% of S&P 500 price-index losses over each 12-month period, with no preset ceiling on the upside.

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

AUGZ The Fund seeks to track the S&P 500 Price Return Index before fees and expenses while using an options strategy to buffer the first 8% to 12% of index losses over each 12-month August investment period.

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

• AUGZ The uncapped original. TrueShares launched this no-hard-cap format in 2020; most buffer funds trade their downside cushion for a ceiling on gains.true-shares.com
• Plain machinery: calls bought and puts sold on the S&P 500 price index, buffering the first 8% to 12% of losses (the adviser targets 10%) each August-to-July period.sec.govtrue-shares.com
• Ten sibling funds reset in different months, from JANZ through DECZ, so the August start date is a choice rather than the only door in.true-shares.com

• 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

• AUGZ The 0.79% fee, with no waiver attached, lands near the category norm but above AUGP's 0.50% on the same August cycle, PQX at 0.50% and ZALT at 0.69%.
• The buffer is a target range measured before fees across the full 12-month period, not a promise; buy mid-period and you get whatever cushion is left.sec.gov
• Options reference the price index, so S&P 500 dividends sit outside the payoff, and the cost of the options trims how much of a rally comes through.sec.gov

• 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 AUGZ profile⁠

Full SIXJ profile⁠