BUCK vs USDX

BUCKASimplify Treasury Option Income ETF

USDXCSGI Enhanced Core 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.

USDX Most of this peer group writes options on long Treasury bonds. USDX keeps the money in government money market funds and sells very short-dated, far out-of-the-money S&P 500 puts and calls.

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.

USDX The Fund seeks income through an actively managed combination of higher-yielding, high-quality short-term money-market investments and a frequently traded short-dated put-and-call options strategy. The options strategy seeks income from exposure to the S&P 500 Index or other broad benchmark indices.

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.

• USDX The collateral is government and Treasury money market funds, so no long-bond duration. Option premium, not coupons, does the income work.sgiam.com
• Prospectus terms: deep out-of-the-money strikes, generally expiring in one to seven days. Positions reset constantly instead of riding one long contract.sec.gov
• Actively managed with no index to replicate, and it pays monthly. The manager sets strikes and sizing as conditions change.sec.gov
• Built as described: a money-market sleeve dominates the portfolio and the options sit on top of it, matching the filed strategy.sgiam.com

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.

• USDX Fee is 1.08%, above the median of its 14-fund category and above Treasury buy-write peers like TLTX (0.29%) and BUCK (0.35%).
• Income comes from selling S&P 500 options, so equity swings, not the cash sleeve, drive surprises. Sold out-of-the-money options cap participation in index moves.sec.gov
• Opened in 2024, so the record is short, and it is not among the busiest tickers in its category.

Full BUCK profile⁠

Full USDX profile⁠