FDEC vs SIXJ

FDECCFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - December

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

In short

FDEC The December door into First Trust's buffer ladder: it absorbs the first 10% of a drop in the big S&P 500 ETF over a one-year stretch, and trades away the rest of the upside above a cap that resets every December.

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

FDEC The Fund seeks to match the price return of the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, subject to a 14.75% upside cap and protection against the first 10% of 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

• FDEC Mechanically simple: the first 10% of the reference S&P 500 ETF's price decline is absorbed over each one-year outcome period, with a cap set fresh every December.ftportfolios.com
• One of twelve monthly siblings running the same playbook (FJAN through FNOV), so a fresh outcome period is never far off and start months can be laddered.
• Live since 2020 with assets in the billions, one of the settled, well-established names in the defined-outcome aisle.

• 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

• FDEC 0.85% a year sits at the pricier end of the buffer shelf: BUFB charges 0.10% and ZALT 0.69% for a comparable 10% cushion.
• It follows price return, so S&P 500 dividends are not passed through and the fund has not been making distributions.
• Thinly traded for its size, and the stated buffer and cap apply in full only across a complete outcome period. Buy mid-period and your own terms differ.

• 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 FDEC profile⁠

Full SIXJ profile⁠