DGJA vs SIXJ

DGJADFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer & Digital Return ETF - January

SIXJBAllianzIM U.S. Equity 6 Month Buffer10 Jan/Jul ETF

In short

DGJA Most buffer ETFs hand you whatever the market gives, up to a cap. This one pays a flat, predetermined return if the S&P 500 ETF is up, unchanged, or down as much as 10%, with the first 10% of price losses buffered over a one-year outcome period.

SIXJ Most buffer ETFs lock you into a 12-month cycle. SIXJ runs a six-month one, resetting each January and July: it tracks SPY's share-price move, absorbs the first 10% of losses, and takes a fresh upside cap twice a year.

Stated mandate

DGJA The Fund seeks to protect the first 10% of price losses in the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust while offering an approximately 8.52% predetermined digital return when the ETF appreciates, is unchanged, or declines by no more than 10% during the current outcome period.

SIXJ The Fund seeks to match the share-price return of SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust over a six-month outcome period, subject to an upside cap and protection against the first 10% of losses.

Why people hold it

• DGJA A sideways year pays the same as an up year: the digital return is fixed at the start of the period and applies whether the S&P 500 ETF rises, sits flat, or slips up to 10%.ftportfolios.com
• The first 10% of the reference ETF's price decline is absorbed by the structure before your capital takes the hit.ftportfolios.com
• Terms are written down before you buy and reset each January, and First Trust runs same-index siblings with other start months for staggered entry points.

• SIXJ The 10% buffer and the cap reset every January 1 and July 1, so terms refresh twice a year instead of on the usual annual clock.
• 0.74% expense ratio, on the lean side for a defined-outcome fund and below the typical fee among its shallow-buffer peers.
• The reference asset is SPY itself, the original S&P 500 ETF, so the payoff is keyed to a plain vanilla benchmark rather than a bespoke index.
• Rates among the stronger implementations in a crowded shallow-buffer field, alongside AllianzIM's other six-month siblings like SIXZ and SIXD.

Worth knowing

• DGJA The upside is a flat number, not participation. A roaring market pays the same digital return, and the math follows price only, so the reference ETF's dividends sit outside it.
• Buffer and digital return are engineered for a holder who owns the fund from one January reset to the next. Buy mid-period and your effective terms shift.ftportfolios.com
• At 0.85% it sits at the pricier end of the buffer shelf (ZALT 0.69%, SIXJ 0.74%), and as a small, lightly traded 2026 launch, spreads add to the sticker fee.

• SIXJ Buffer and cap are designed to work over the full six-month period. Buy mid-period and you get whatever cushion and upside room remain at that moment.
• It tracks SPY's share-price return, so dividends aren't passed through and the fund isn't structured to pay income.
• Volume is light next to the largest buffer funds, so bid-ask spreads can run wider, especially in fast-moving markets.

Full DGJA profile⁠

Full SIXJ profile⁠