DECZ vs ZALT

DECZCTrueShares Structured Outcome (December) ETF

ZALTAInnovator U.S. Equity 10 Buffer ETF - Quarterly

In short

DECZ Most buffer ETFs trade your upside for the cushion. DECZ skips the hard cap: it aims to absorb the first 8% to 12% of S&P 500 price-index losses each 12-month period, at 0.79% with no waiver.

ZALT The defined-outcome trade on a three-month clock: ZALT follows SPY up to a cap and buffers the first 10% of a decline, then resets both every quarter. Four fresh caps a year, at a fee under the shallow-buffer median.

Stated mandate

DECZ The Fund seeks to track the S&P 500 Price Return Index before fees and expenses while cushioning the first 8% to 12% of index losses during each twelve-month period.

ZALT The fund seeks to follow SPY's return up to a predetermined cap while providing a 10% downside buffer over each three-month outcome period. It may be held indefinitely, with the defined outcomes resetting at the end of each period.

Why people hold it

• DECZ No stated ceiling on gains. TrueShares built this series around leaving the rally side open, with upside set by options pricing rather than a fixed cap.true-shares.comtrue-shares.com 2
• The buffer is spelled out in the fund's own documents: the first 8% to 12% of index losses per 12-month period, with the manager targeting 10%.true-shares.com
• The payoff is built from exchange-listed FLEX options inside a 1940 Act fund, not a bank-issued note, so no third-party credit sits behind it.sec.gov

• ZALT Resets on a quarterly clock: a new cap is set the first day of each calendar quarter and the 10% buffer starts over. Can be held indefinitely, no rolling into a new ticker.sec.govcboe.com
• At 0.69% it undercuts the going rate for 10% buffer funds on the S&P 500, where peers like SIXZ, JULT and BJUN charge 0.74% to 0.79%.
• The cushion is built from FLEX options on SPY itself, so the thing you are hedged against is the same fund most investors already watch.sec.gov
• Sits among the stronger implementations in its shallow-buffer peer group on cost and ease of trading.

Worth knowing

• DECZ Uncapped is not full participation. Option costs come out of the upside, and the reference is the S&P 500 price index, so index dividends sit outside the return.true-shares.com
• Fee is 0.79% with no waiver, near the category median. Cheaper buffer builds exist, including AUGP and PQX at 0.50%.
• Small and thinly traded, and the buffer is measured from each period's start, so a mid-period buy gets a different cushion than a day-one holder.sec.gov

• ZALT Three months of upside buys a lower ceiling. Each quarter's cap is priced off three-month options, so it lands well below what a 12-month buffer fund can offer.sec.gov
• Buy mid-quarter and you inherit whatever cap and buffer are left, not the full 10%. The prospectus says so plainly.sec.gov
• The fee comes out of the cushion: with the 0.69% fee counted, the prospectus puts the net buffer at 9.82% per period. No distributions so far, so return shows up in price.sec.gov

Full DECZ profile⁠

Full ZALT profile⁠