BAPR vs ZALT

BAPRCInnovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF

ZALTAInnovator U.S. Equity 10 Buffer ETF - Quarterly

In short

BAPR Buffered S&P 500 exposure on an April clock. FLEX options absorb the first 9% of a drawdown over each roughly one-year period, and the trade-off is a ceiling on the upside. Live since 2019, resetting every April 1.

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

BAPR The Fund seeks to replicate the performance of an ETF tracking the S&P 500 over the current approximately one-year Outcome Period, subject to a cap, while buffering the first 9% of losses. It uses FLEX Options referencing the Underlying ETF.

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

• BAPR The first 9% of an S&P 500 decline is absorbed over each roughly one-year outcome period, built from FLEX options on SPY inside a 1940 Act fund rather than a bank note.
• Clean annual reset: each April 1 starts a new twelve-month period with a fresh 9% buffer and a fresh cap, no rolling or rebalancing on your end.
• Trading since April 2019, so the April vintage has already run through multiple full outcome periods, including live market stress.

• 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

• BAPR The upside is capped. In a strong S&P 500 year the fund is designed to stop participating once the period's cap is reached.
• Buffer and cap are measured from the April 1 start. Buy mid-period and the protection left and the room above you differ from the headline terms.
• 0.79% a year, above cheaper buffered peers such as SWAN and DMAX. It is also one of the lighter-volume buffer funds and has not been paying distributions.

• 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 BAPR profile⁠

Full ZALT profile⁠