BDEC vs XTR

BDECCInnovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF

XTRCGlobal X S&P 500 Tail Risk ETF

In short

BDEC Innovator invented the buffer ETF, and BDEC is the December door into that lineup: SPY's price moves with the first 9% of losses absorbed, the upside capped, and the whole deal reset every December 1.

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

BDEC The Fund uses a defined-outcome strategy intended to replicate its underlying ETF over an approximately one-year period, subject to a capped upside and protection against the first 9% of losses.

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

• BDEC The terms are written down before you commit: 9% of the reference ETF's price losses absorbed (before the 0.79% fee) over a roughly one-year period, with the new cap published each December 1.sec.gov
• At 0.79% the fee sits at the category median, and it undercuts the dated buffer funds built on the same reference (FDEC, FJUL, FMAR and siblings at 0.85%).
• One rung in a twelve-month series from the shop that listed the first defined-outcome ETFs in 2018. BDEC has been running its December reset since 2019.globenewswire.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

• BDEC Timing is the whole game. The buffer and cap are built for holders from the first day of the outcome period to the last; buy mid-period and your actual terms differ from the headline ones.sec.gov
• You get SPY's price return, not its dividends: the fund's options don't collect them, so income isn't part of the design.sec.gov
• Trading is thin for a fund of this size, so limit orders and a look at the spread earn their keep.

• 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 BDEC profile⁠

Full XTR profile⁠