CPRY vs ISWN

CPRYACalamos Russell 2000 Structured Alt Protection ETF – January

ISWNAAmplify BlackSwan ISWN ETF (International)

In short

CPRY Small caps with a hard floor. CPRY uses options to target 100% of your starting value back over a one-year outcome period, before fees. The trade: a ceiling on the upside, reset each January.

ISWN Most downside-protection funds pay for the cushion by capping your upside. ISWN skips the cap: roughly 90% sits in Treasuries while about 10% buys long-dated in-the-money calls on EFA, so developed-market exposure arrives through options.

Stated mandate

CPRY The fund seeks point-to-point exposure to the positive price return of the Russell 2000 up to a defined cap, while providing 100% downside protection over the one-year outcome period before fees and expenses.

ISWN The fund seeks to track a rules-based index combining U.S. Treasury securities with EFA options. Its strategy targets approximately 90% Treasury exposure to cushion severe, rare market disruptions while retaining some participation in EFA gains.

Why people hold it

• CPRY Full protection, not a partial buffer: the design targets 100% downside protection over the one-year outcome period, before fees and expenses.
• The floor sits on small caps. The reference asset is the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM), the choppier end of US equities.
• At 0.69%, it undercuts the 0.89% median fee among protection funds, and it sits among the strongest implementations in that peer group.
• Part of a dated series: siblings start their outcome periods in July (CPRJ) and October (CPRO), so January is not the only entry point.

• ISWN At 0.49%, it runs about half the 0.89% median of its downside-protection cohort.
• No artificial ceiling on gains. Buffer peers like IBUF hand back everything above a set cap each outcome period; ISWN's EFA calls carry no stated cap.amplifyetfs.cominnovatoretfs.com
• The rare international take on the structure: ISWN is the EAFE sibling of Amplify's SWAN, swapping SPY options for EFA options to reach developed markets outside the US.amplifyetfs.com
• Rules-based, not a judgment call. It tracks the S-Network International BlackSwan Index, which sets the Treasury and option mix on a fixed schedule.amplifyetfs.com

Worth knowing

• CPRY Protection is point to point and before the 0.69% fee. Buy mid-period or sell early and you get whatever the options package is worth that day.
• Upside stops at a cap that resets with each new January outcome period. Anything the Russell 2000 gains above it stays with the index.
• A small fund that trades thinly, so spreads can run wider than on big index ETFs.

• ISWN The Treasury sleeve targets the duration of the 10-year note, so interest rates steer results as much as EAFE does.amplifyetfs.com
• The cushion is indirect. It leans on Treasuries holding up when stocks fall, not a contractual buffer, so no fixed percentage of downside is defined.amplifyetfs.com
• Among the smaller and more thinly traded funds in its category, which can widen bid-ask spreads on entry and exit.

Full CPRY profile⁠

Full ISWN profile⁠