FJUL vs ZALT

FJULCFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - July

ZALTAInnovator U.S. Equity 10 Buffer ETF - Quarterly

In short

FJUL The July rung of First Trust's twelve-month buffer ladder: 10% of SPY's price-return losses absorbed, upside capped, and the whole contract reset each July. Running since 2020.

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

FJUL The Fund seeks returns matching the price return of the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust up to a 16.82% upside cap, while buffering the first 10% of losses during the July 20, 2026–July 16, 2027 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

• FJUL The terms are written down before you show up: a 10% downside buffer on SPY's price return and a stated upside cap, both fixed for the July-to-July outcome period.ftportfolios.com
• Twelve identical monthly siblings run on the same recipe (FJAN through FDEC), so start dates can be laddered instead of hinging on one July entry.
• Live since 2020 and now a billion-dollar-plus fund, it is a seasoned rung of the ladder with many annual resets behind it.

• 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

• FJUL At 0.85% a year it sits above the buffer group's 0.79% median, and well above cheaper builds like ZALT (0.69%) or the laddered BUFB (0.10%).
• The reference is SPY's price return, so dividends sit outside the buffered math, and the fund itself has made no distributions.
• Buffer and cap are defined for the full July-to-July window; buy mid-period and your own cap and remaining buffer differ from the headline terms.ftportfolios.com

• 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 FJUL profile⁠

Full ZALT profile⁠