DGJA vs XTR

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

XTRCGlobal X S&P 500 Tail Risk 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.

XTR Most downside-protection ETFs sell away your upside to pay for it. XTR pays cash instead: it owns the S&P 500 stocks and buys 10% out-of-the-money puts every quarter, leaving the upside uncapped.

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.

XTR The Fund seeks to track the performance of the Cboe S&P 500 Tail Risk Index before fees and expenses.

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.

• XTR No cap on the gains. The hedge is bought with cash rather than funded by selling calls, so index rallies come through less the put premium and fees.sec.gov
• Costs 0.25%, well under half of what the defined-outcome funds it competes with typically charge for downside protection.
• Owns the roughly 500 S&P 500 stocks themselves, with the put position layered on top, rather than wrapping the index in a stack of options.sec.gov
• Rules-based and mechanical: puts are bought at 10% below the prevailing index level each quarter and held to expiration, with no manager guessing at timing.sec.gov

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.

• XTR Protection starts about 10% down and resets quarterly, so garden-variety dips are absorbed in full and the gap widens if the market rallies mid-quarter.sec.gov
• Insurance is not free. The quarterly premium is a steady cost against plain index exposure, and in calm markets the puts expire worthless.sec.gov
• A small fund that trades thinly, so limit orders matter and subscale products carry more risk of being closed than the category's giants.

Full DGJA profile⁠

Full XTR profile⁠