FNOV vs ZALT

FNOVCFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - November

ZALTAInnovator U.S. Equity 10 Buffer ETF - Quarterly

In short

FNOV One of the original November-reset buffer funds: since 2019 it has run a rolling 12-month claim on SPY's price, absorbing the first 10% of losses in exchange for an upside cap that resets every November.

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

FNOV The Fund seeks returns matching the price return of the State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust, up to a predetermined cap, while buffering the first 10% of losses during the current November 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

• FNOV The deal is written down, not improvised: FLEX options on SPY, the first 10% of price losses absorbed, upside capped, everything reset on a known November date.sec.gov
• Live since November 2019, through a bear market and multiple resets, and now a multi-billion-dollar member of First Trust's every-month buffer ladder.sec.gov
• The options settle through the Options Clearing Corporation, so the buffer does not hang on a single bank's creditworthiness the way a structured note does.sec.gov

• 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

• FNOV The 10% buffer and the cap belong to the full outcome period. Buy mid-period and your own cushion and upside room differ from the headline terms.sec.gov
• 0.85% a year, above the typical buffer fund. Similar 10% buffer exposure trades cheaper elsewhere, such as ZALT at 0.69% or the laddered BUFB at 0.10%.
• It follows SPY's price return, so index dividends do not come through and the fund is not built as an income payer.

• 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 FNOV profile⁠

Full ZALT profile⁠