AUGZ vs XTR

AUGZDTrueShares Structured Outcome (August) ETF

XTRCGlobal X S&P 500 Tail Risk 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.

XTR Most downside-protection ETFs sell away your upside to pay for it. XTR pays cash instead: it owns the S&P 500 stocks and buys 10% out-of-the-money puts every quarter, leaving the upside uncapped.

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.

XTR The Fund seeks to track the performance of the Cboe S&P 500 Tail Risk Index before fees and expenses.

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

• XTR No cap on the gains. The hedge is bought with cash rather than funded by selling calls, so index rallies come through less the put premium and fees.sec.gov
• Costs 0.25%, well under half of what the defined-outcome funds it competes with typically charge for downside protection.
• Owns the roughly 500 S&P 500 stocks themselves, with the put position layered on top, rather than wrapping the index in a stack of options.sec.gov
• Rules-based and mechanical: puts are bought at 10% below the prevailing index level each quarter and held to expiration, with no manager guessing at timing.sec.gov

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

• XTR Protection starts about 10% down and resets quarterly, so garden-variety dips are absorbed in full and the gap widens if the market rallies mid-quarter.sec.gov
• Insurance is not free. The quarterly premium is a steady cost against plain index exposure, and in calm markets the puts expire worthless.sec.gov
• A small fund that trades thinly, so limit orders matter and subscale products carry more risk of being closed than the category's giants.

Full AUGZ profile⁠

Full XTR profile⁠