BNOV vs SIXJ

BNOVCInnovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF

SIXJBAllianzIM U.S. Equity 6 Month Buffer10 Jan/Jul ETF

In short

BNOV The November rung of Innovator's buffer lineup: it follows the big S&P 500 ETF up to a cap set each November 1 and absorbs that ETF's first 9% of losses, then starts over a year later.

SIXJ Most buffer ETFs lock you into a 12-month cycle. SIXJ runs a six-month one, resetting each January and July: it tracks SPY's share-price move, absorbs the first 10% of losses, and takes a fresh upside cap twice a year.

Stated mandate

BNOV The fund seeks to track SPY up to a predetermined cap while buffering investors against the first 9% of losses over the outcome period.

SIXJ The Fund seeks to match the share-price return of SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust over a six-month outcome period, subject to an upside cap and protection against the first 10% of losses.

Why people hold it

• BNOV The contract is simple: the first 9% of the reference S&P 500 ETF's decline is buffered over the outcome period, with gains capped at a level fixed at the start.
• Running since its 2019 launch, it resets on a fixed calendar: a fresh buffer and cap every November 1, through the following October 31.
• The 0.79% expense ratio sits right at the median for shallow-buffer funds built on the same S&P 500 ETF.
• The defined outcome arrives in a plain 1940 Act ETF wrapper, not a bank-issued structured note.

• SIXJ The 10% buffer and the cap reset every January 1 and July 1, so terms refresh twice a year instead of on the usual annual clock.
• 0.74% expense ratio, on the lean side for a defined-outcome fund and below the typical fee among its shallow-buffer peers.
• The reference asset is SPY itself, the original S&P 500 ETF, so the payoff is keyed to a plain vanilla benchmark rather than a bespoke index.
• Rates among the stronger implementations in a crowded shallow-buffer field, alongside AllianzIM's other six-month siblings like SIXZ and SIXD.

Worth knowing

• BNOV Priced with the pack at 0.79%, but cheaper paths to a buffer exist, including the laddered BUFB at 0.10%.
• The buffer and cap are engineered for a full outcome period. Buying mid-period means your effective protection and upside differ from the headline terms.
• It trades thinly next to its peers, and across a crowded field of 50-plus shallow-buffer funds it sits in the lower half on cost, trading and risk.

• SIXJ Buffer and cap are designed to work over the full six-month period. Buy mid-period and you get whatever cushion and upside room remain at that moment.
• It tracks SPY's share-price return, so dividends aren't passed through and the fund isn't structured to pay income.
• Volume is light next to the largest buffer funds, so bid-ask spreads can run wider, especially in fast-moving markets.

Full BNOV profile⁠

Full SIXJ profile⁠