BUFC vs GNOV

BUFCBAB Conservative Buffer ETF

GNOVCFT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - November

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.

GNOV First Trust's November rung in a 12-month buffer ladder: it follows SPY's price return (dividends excluded), absorbs the first 15% of a period's losses, and caps the upside in exchange.

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.

GNOV The Fund seeks to match the price return of the State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust, subject to a predetermined upside cap and protection against the first 15% of losses during the stated 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.

• GNOV The cushion is written into the fund's terms: the first 15% of SPY's price decline over the outcome period is absorbed before losses reach you.
• The outcome period runs November to November and resets annually, so it slots in as one rung of First Trust's monthly moderate-buffer ladder (GJAN, GAPR, GJUL and the rest).
• Reference asset is SPY itself, plain vanilla US large caps, not a bespoke options index. And it comes in a registered 1940 Act fund, not a bank-issued note.

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.

• GNOV At 0.85%, the fee sits above the 0.79% median for its buffer peer group and far above laddered options like BUFF at 0.10%.
• Buffer and cap are engineered for the full November-to-November stretch. Buy mid-period and you get whatever cushion and headroom are left, not the stated terms.
• It trades lightly next to the biggest buffer ETFs, which can mean wider spreads; limit orders are the standard approach.

Full BUFC profile⁠

Full GNOV profile⁠