FMAR vs SIXJ

FMARCFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - March

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

In short

FMAR The March seat in First Trust's twelve-month buffer ladder. It holds SPY-linked options built to absorb the first 10% of a year's losses, in exchange for a ceiling on gains that resets every March.

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

FMAR The Fund seeks to track the price return of the State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust, subject to an upside cap and protection against an initial portion 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

• FMAR The mechanism is legible: over each one-year outcome period it targets the first 10% of SPY's decline as a cushion, giving up gains above a cap struck at the March reset.
• Twelve monthly siblings run the same playbook (FJAN, FAPR, FSEP and the rest), so a start month is a choice, or you can ladder several and stop leaning on one reset date.
• Running since 2021 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund, with the reference asset being the SPY trust itself rather than a bespoke index, inside a standard 1940 Act ETF wrapper.

• 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

• FMAR 0.85% a year sits at the pricier end of the buffer shelf. Laddered alternatives are cheaper, with BUFB listed at 0.10%.
• The 10% buffer and the cap belong to a full outcome period. Buy mid-period and you inherit whatever cushion and headroom remain, not the headline terms.
• It trades thinly and hasn't been paying distributions, so limit orders earn their keep and any return has to show up in the share price.

• 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 FMAR profile⁠

Full SIXJ profile⁠