EALT vs SIXJ

EALTBInnovator U.S. Equity 5 to 15 Buffer ETF

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

In short

EALT Most buffer funds cushion your first dollar of loss. EALT skips that, absorbing the 5% to 15% slice of an S&P 500 ETF's decline instead, and resetting every three months. You wear the first 5%, and the upside is capped.

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

EALT The fund seeks to track the return of an S&P 500 ETF, subject to a cap, while providing downside protection within the 5% to 15% loss range during each three-month 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

• EALT A 10-point protected band placed over the 5% to 15% loss zone, the ordinary-pullback range, referenced to a plain S&P 500 ETF (VOO).
• Outcome periods run three months, so buffer and cap reset four times a year rather than once. Less waiting to get back to fresh terms.
• 0.69% a year undercuts the typical shallow-buffer fund at 0.79%, and matches Innovator's own quarterly first-dollar sibling ZALT.
• Live since 2023 and one of the stronger builds in a shallow-buffer field of 50-plus competing funds.

• 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

• EALT The first 5% of a decline is yours, and so is anything below 15%. This is a band of protection, not a floor.
• Upside is capped, with a new cap set each three-month period. Buy mid-period and your buffer and cap differ from the stated terms.
• A smaller, thinly traded fund, so spreads can run wider than in the category's heavyweights. The structure targets price outcomes, not income.

• 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 EALT profile⁠

Full SIXJ profile⁠