FAUG vs ZALT

FAUGCFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - August

ZALTAInnovator U.S. Equity 10 Buffer ETF - Quarterly

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.

ZALT The defined-outcome trade on a three-month clock: ZALT follows SPY up to a cap and buffers the first 10% of a decline, then resets both every quarter. Four fresh caps a year, at a fee under the shallow-buffer median.

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.

ZALT The fund seeks to follow SPY's return up to a predetermined cap while providing a 10% downside buffer over each three-month outcome period. It may be held indefinitely, with the defined outcomes resetting at the end of each period.

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.

• ZALT Resets on a quarterly clock: a new cap is set the first day of each calendar quarter and the 10% buffer starts over. Can be held indefinitely, no rolling into a new ticker.sec.govcboe.com
• At 0.69% it undercuts the going rate for 10% buffer funds on the S&P 500, where peers like SIXZ, JULT and BJUN charge 0.74% to 0.79%.
• The cushion is built from FLEX options on SPY itself, so the thing you are hedged against is the same fund most investors already watch.sec.gov
• Sits among the stronger implementations in its shallow-buffer peer group on cost and ease of trading.

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.

• ZALT Three months of upside buys a lower ceiling. Each quarter's cap is priced off three-month options, so it lands well below what a 12-month buffer fund can offer.sec.gov
• Buy mid-quarter and you inherit whatever cap and buffer are left, not the full 10%. The prospectus says so plainly.sec.gov
• The fee comes out of the cushion: with the 0.69% fee counted, the prospectus puts the net buffer at 9.82% per period. No distributions so far, so return shows up in price.sec.gov

Full FAUG profile⁠

Full ZALT profile⁠