BMAY vs ZALT

BMAYCInnovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF

ZALTAInnovator U.S. Equity 10 Buffer ETF - Quarterly

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.

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

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.

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

• 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.

• 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

• 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.

• 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 BMAY profile⁠

Full ZALT profile⁠