FAPR vs SIXJ

FAPRCFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - April

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

In short

FAPR One of twelve First Trust buffer funds, each keyed to a different start month. The April vintage uses SPY options to absorb the first 10% of a decline over its one-year outcome period, trading that cushion for a ceiling on gains that resets every April.

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

FAPR The Fund seeks to track the price return of the State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust, subject to a 15.16% upside cap and protection against the first 10% of losses 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

• FAPR The bargain is explicit: FLEX options on SPY absorb the first 10% of a drop over the outcome period, in exchange for a cap on the upside.ftportfolios.com
• Perpetual structure. At each period's end the cap resets to prevailing market conditions and the fund rolls on, so there is no maturity date to manage.businesswire.com
• Part of a twelve-fund monthly ladder (FJAN through FDEC), so an outcome period can be started in any month rather than only in April.
• Sizable for a buffer fund, trading regularly, with a live record back to its 2021 launch and several completed outcome periods behind it.

• 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

• FAPR At 0.85% a year it runs above the typical fund in its buffer peer group, and some alternatives such as BUFB charge a small fraction of that.
• The 10% buffer is measured before fees and only across the full period. Buying mid-period means whatever cushion and upside remain, not the headline terms.businesswire.com
• It targets SPY's price return through options, so S&P 500 dividends do not pass through and the fund has not been making distributions.ftportfolios.com

• 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 FAPR profile⁠

Full SIXJ profile⁠