DHDG vs XTR

DHDGCFT Vest U.S. Equity Quarterly 2.5 to 15 Buffer ETF

XTRCGlobal X S&P 500 Tail Risk ETF

In short

DHDG Most buffer ETFs lock in one cap for a full year. DHDG re-strikes every quarter against the S&P 500 ETF's price return, and it asks for a deductible: you take the first 2.5% of a drop, the fund absorbs the next 12.5 points.

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

DHDG The Fund seeks to match the price return of the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust before fees and expenses, subject to a 4.30% upside cap, while buffering losses in the -2.5% to -15% range during the stated 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

• DHDG The buffer skips the first 2.5% of losses and runs down to -15%, spending its protection on a real drawdown rather than the first wobble.ftportfolios.com
• Quarterly outcome periods reset the terms four times a year, so the cap is struck against current market conditions instead of one date twelve months back.
• A plain 1940 Act ETF, not a structured note from a bank, and it lands in the upper half of a crowded field of S&P 500 buffer funds.

• 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

• DHDG The 0.85% expense ratio sits above cheaper laddered buffer options such as BUFP (0.50%) and IVVM (0.53%).
• Upside is capped each quarter and the cap is fixed at the period's start. Buy mid-period and your effective cap and remaining buffer differ from the stated terms.
• The reference is the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust's price return, so index dividends sit outside the outcome and this hasn't been an income payer.

• 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 DHDG profile⁠

Full XTR profile⁠