BALT vs SEPW

BALTBInnovator Defined Wealth Shield ETF

SEPWCAllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer20 Sep ETF

In short

BALT Most buffer ETFs hand you a cushion once a year. BALT rebuilds a 20% one every three months: four fresh starts against S&P 500 drawdowns. The trade-off is that the cap resets with it, and it starts low.

SEPW September's door into AllianzIM's deep-buffer series: SEPW absorbs the first 20% of a year's decline in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust's share price, and trades away upside above a cap that resets every September 1.

Stated mandate

BALT The fund seeks to track the return of SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), subject to a cap, while buffering investors against losses. It targets a 20% buffer during each three-month outcome period and resets quarterly.

SEPW The fund seeks to track the share-price return of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust through the current outcome period, subject to an upside cap, while protecting the first 20% of underlying losses. Fees reduce the stated cap and buffer.

Why people hold it

• BALT Deep and short-dated: it targets a 20% buffer against losses in the S&P 500 ETF it references, over a three-month outcome period, then resets for the next quarter.innovatoretfs.com
• 0.69% a year, under the typical fee in its deep-buffer group, and it has been running the quarterly reset since launching in 2021.
• One of the larger funds doing 20% buffers on the S&P 500, and one of the strongest implementations in that peer group.

• SEPW Deep end of the buffer world: the first 20% of the reference ETF's price decline over a full outcome period is absorbed. Fees reduce the stated buffer and cap.
• A 1940 Act ETF, not a bank-issued note, so no single issuer's balance sheet sits between the strategy and the payoff.
• One month in a series: March and May siblings run the same 20% buffer on the same reference, so the start date isn't dictated by a single point on the calendar.

Worth knowing

• BALT A deep buffer over a short window buys a low ceiling. The cap is set fresh each three-month period, and it is far tighter than what annual buffer funds start with.
• The 20% cushion is measured from the start of each outcome period. Buy mid-quarter and the buffer and cap you actually own differ from the headline terms.innovatoretfs.com
• Cheaper 20% buffer options exist: PBFR at 0.50%, Pacer's Swan SOS Flex funds (PSFJ, PSFM) at 0.49%.

• SEPW Cost sits at the top of the deep-buffer group: 0.74%, against 0.50% at PGIM's laddered PBFR and 0.49% at the Pacer Swan flex funds (PSFJ, PSFM).
• The reference is a share price, so S&P 500 dividends don't count toward the capped return, and income isn't part of the design.
• Bought mid-period, the effective buffer and cap differ from the headline terms, which apply across a complete outcome period.

Full BALT profile⁠

Full SEPW profile⁠