BUFC vs GJUN

BUFCBAB Conservative Buffer ETF

GJUNCFT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - June

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.

GJUN Rebuilt every June: GJUN follows the price of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust up to a preset cap while absorbing the first 15% of a decline. A cushion with a ceiling, on a fixed annual schedule.

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.

GJUN The Fund seeks to match the price return of the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, before fees and expenses, up to a predetermined upside cap while buffering the first 15% of losses during the current 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.

• GJUN The 15% cushion is written into the fund's terms, not left to a manager's judgment: each June-to-June outcome period aims to absorb the reference ETF's first 15% of losses.
• The reference asset is the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust itself, so the thing being buffered is a fund whose price you can watch tick by tick.
• June is one rung in First Trust's full twelve-month moderate-buffer series, so the reset month is a choice and laddering across months is straightforward.

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.

• GJUN At 0.85% a year it prices above the typical fund in its buffer cohort, a big reason it sits in the lower half of that peer group.
• Cap and buffer are measured across a full outcome period. Step in mid-period and your remaining cushion and upside room differ from the headline terms.
• The mandate targets price return, so payouts are not part of the design.

Full BUFC profile⁠

Full GJUN profile⁠