BUCK vs LTTI

BUCKASimplify Treasury Option Income ETF

LTTIDFT Vest 20+ Year Treasury & Target Income ETF

In short

BUCK Most Treasury option-income funds write calls on 20+ year bonds and hand you the duration ride. BUCK works the short end: U.S. government securities kept to a year or less of duration, with an option overlay on top, paying monthly.

LTTI Most long-bond option-income funds advertise a headline yield. LTTI aims at a moving one: roughly 5 percentage points above the yield of the 20+ year Treasury ETF it writes options on, funded by Treasuries plus a call spread.

Stated mandate

BUCK The fund seeks monthly income through an actively managed portfolio with at least 80% of net assets in U.S. government securities. It seeks total returns while keeping duration at one year or less and uses risk-managed option writing to add income and total return.

LTTI The Fund seeks current income and, secondarily, capital appreciation. It combines U.S. Treasury investments with purchased and written call options on an underlying ETF.

Why people hold it

• BUCK Duration is capped at one year or less by mandate, so income leans on the option writing rather than a bet on long-bond prices.simplify.us
• A 0.35% expense ratio undercuts the typical fee among Treasury option-income funds and ties the cheapest of its top-ranked peers, TLTW.
• Pays monthly, with at least 80% of net assets in U.S. government securities, so the engine sits on Treasuries rather than corporate credit.
• Sits in the upper half of its small Treasury-overlay peer group, one of the stronger takes on the short-bonds-plus-options idea.

• LTTI The income target is a formula, not a slogan: an annual rate about 5 percentage points above the underlying long Treasury ETF's own yield, so the goal shifts as rates do.ftportfolios.com
• It buys calls as well as writing them on one long-bond ETF, a spread rather than a plain covered call, so the payoff is shaped differently than a straight buy-write like TLTW.ftportfolios.com
• The collateral is US Treasuries, not credit, and it pays monthly inside a standard 1940 Act ETF wrapper (no K-1).

Worth knowing

• BUCK Actively managed with no published index behind it. Results ride on how the manager runs the option book, and premium income varies month to month.
• Selling options is a trade: premium now in exchange for giving up some upside on the underlying positions.simplify.us
• Launched in 2022, so the live record covers a short and unusual stretch of rate history.

• LTTI At 0.65% a year it costs more than the typical fund in its group, and TLTW runs a buy-write on the same long-bond exposure for 0.35%.
• Launched in 2025, it is a small, lightly traded fund, so spreads can widen and the record to judge it on is short.
• The written calls trade away part of any long Treasury rally in exchange for income, and the Treasury leg still moves with long rates.

Full BUCK profile⁠

Full LTTI profile⁠