BUFC vs GJUL

BUFCBAB Conservative Buffer ETF

GJULCFT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - July

In short

BUFC Most buffer funds lock you into a 12-month outcome period. BUFC resets every three months, targeting 15% downside protection against the S&P 500 with roughly 3% of the upside per period. Deep cushion, short leash.

GJUL The July door into First Trust's moderate-buffer lineup: it aims to absorb the first 15% of an S&P 500 ETF price decline over a one-year outcome period, and in exchange your upside stops at a cap set when that period begins.

Stated mandate

BUFC The Fund is an actively managed equity ETF seeking conservative capital appreciation with potential partial downside protection. It uses options to establish an upside cap and downside protection over rolling three-month periods, targeting 15% downside protection and about 3% upside participation to the S&P 500.

GJUL The Fund seeks to match the price return of the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust before fees and expenses, subject to a 13.82% upside cap, while buffering the first 15% of losses during the July 20, 2026–July 16, 2027 target outcome period.

Why people hold it

• BUFC Uses options to target 15% downside protection against the S&P 500 over rolling three-month periods, so the cushion resets four times a year instead of once.alliancebernstein.com
• At 0.69%, it costs less than Innovator's 0.79% Power Buffer funds (PJUL, PJAN, POCT) and less than the typical fund in its buffer cohort.
• Actively managed rather than pinned to a calendar index series, running since 2023, and among the stronger implementations in its buffer peer group.

• GJUL The first 15% of the reference ETF's price loss over each outcome period is absorbed by the option structure, not by a manager's judgment call.
• Twelve month-stamped siblings run the same 15% recipe, so the calendar start is your choice. This one resets in July.
• The reference is the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, so the only moving parts are the buffer and the cap. No sector tilts, no stock picking.

Worth knowing

• BUFC The price of that deep cushion: upside participation is targeted near 3% per three-month period, so big rallies mostly pass you by.
• Protection is partial and period-based. Losses past the targeted 15% pass through, and buying mid-period shifts your effective buffer and cap.alliancebernstein.com
• Thinly traded for its size, so spreads and limit orders deserve attention.

• GJUL At 0.85%, it runs above the buffer-cohort median of 0.79%. Laddered peers like BUFF charge 0.10% and spread start dates for you.
• Buffer and cap apply to the full outcome period. Buy or sell partway through and you own part of a buffer and part of a cap, priced by the options.
• It targets price return, so S&P 500 dividends are not part of the package.

Full BUFC profile⁠

Full GJUL profile⁠