AUGZ vs ZALT

AUGZDTrueShares Structured Outcome (August) ETF

ZALTAInnovator U.S. Equity 10 Buffer ETF - Quarterly

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.

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

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.

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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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 AUGZ profile⁠

Full ZALT profile⁠