FAUG vs SIXJ

FAUGCFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - August

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

In short

FAUG First Trust's August-reset buffer fund absorbs the first 10% of a one-year price decline in the S&P 500 tracker it follows, and caps your upside in exchange. Running since 2019, an early arrival in what is now a crowded category.

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

FAUG The Fund seeks to match the price return of the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, before fees and expenses, up to a predetermined cap while buffering the first 10% of the underlying ETF's losses during the stated 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

• FAUG The trade is spelled out: first 10% of the reference ETF's price loss absorbed, upside stopped at a cap, dividends left out, clock reset every August.
• One slot in a full twelve-fund calendar (FJAN through FDEC), so an investor can enter on the August cycle or spread entries across reset months.
• Live since 2019 and reset every August since, so the mechanics have run through real markets rather than model assumptions.

• 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

• FAUG At 0.85% a year it sits at the pricier end of the buffer shelf: ZALT runs 0.69% and the laddered BUFB 0.10% for related takes on the same idea.
• Buffer and cap are set for the whole outcome period. Buy mid-period and you inherit whatever cushion and headroom remain, not the headline terms.
• Trades lightly next to the category's busiest names, so spreads can be part of the entry cost.

• 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 FAUG profile⁠

Full SIXJ profile⁠