BMAY vs XTR

BMAYCInnovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF

XTRCGlobal X S&P 500 Tail Risk ETF

In short

BMAY Innovator's May-dated buffer fund: it shadows the S&P 500 up to a preset cap and absorbs the first 9% of losses over a one-year outcome period that resets each May 1. The shallow buffer is what buys the higher cap.

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

BMAY The fund seeks to track SPY's return up to a predetermined cap while protecting against the first 9% of losses during the outcome 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

• BMAY The contract is spelled out up front: first 9% of S&P 500 losses absorbed, gains capped, over a defined period ending April 30. You know the shape of the outcome before you own it.
• 0.79% a year, right at the median for its buffer cohort. Options-built defense costs more than plain index beta, but you aren't paying above the going rate for it.
• Live since 2020, with several full outcome periods behind it rather than a launch-week track record.
• Lands in the upper half of a crowded cohort of 50-plus shallow S&P 500 buffer funds.

• 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

• BMAY The 9% buffer and the cap belong to the full outcome period. Buy mid-period and you inherit whatever protection and upside are left, not the headline terms.
• Thinly traded next to the S&P 500 giants, so spreads can be wider and limit orders earn their keep.
• Innovator's laddered sibling BUFB spreads across start months and carries a 0.10% expense ratio, a cheaper route for anyone who doesn't want a single calendar slot.

• 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 BMAY profile⁠

Full XTR profile⁠