FOCT vs SIXJ

FOCTCFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - October

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

In short

FOCT One of twelve month-dated buffer funds from First Trust, FOCT absorbs the first 10% of a year's decline in the SPDR S&P 500 fund it tracks, in exchange for an upside cap fixed each October. Index exposure with the sharp edges sanded down.

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

FOCT The Fund seeks to match the price return of the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, subject to a 15.09% upside cap, while protecting the first 10% of losses during the October 20, 2025–October 16, 2026 target-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

• FOCT The trade is spelled out up front: the first 10% of the reference fund's price decline absorbed over the year, upside capped at a level set on the October reset day.ftportfolios.com
• Twelve siblings, one per calendar month (FSEP, FNOV and the rest), so the reset date is a choice rather than a constraint, and the terms reset on the same schedule every year.
• Running since 2020 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund, so this October dial has already rolled through a stack of full outcome periods.

• 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

• FOCT Buy mid-period and you inherit whatever cap and buffer are left that day, not the headline terms. The full deal belongs to whoever holds from one October reset to the next.ftportfolios.com
• 0.85% a year sits on the higher side of its buffer-fund cohort, where the median is closer to 0.79%. Downside protection carries a sticker price.
• The target is price return, so dividends from the underlying S&P 500 fund don't come along for the ride. This one has not been paying distributions.

• 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 FOCT profile⁠

Full SIXJ profile⁠