JANZ vs XTR

JANZDTrueShares Structured Outcome (January) ETF

XTRCGlobal X S&P 500 Tail Risk ETF

In short

JANZ The buffer ETF that refuses to cap you. TrueShares pioneered the uncapped format in 2020: no ceiling on gains, just a partial share of the S&P 500's price move, with the first 8% to 12% of a calendar-year drop buffered.

XTR Most downside-protection ETFs sell away your upside to pay for it. XTR pays cash instead: it owns the S&P 500 stocks and buys 10% out-of-the-money puts every quarter, leaving the upside uncapped.

Stated mandate

JANZ The Fund seeks returns tracking the S&P 500 Price Return Index while buffering the first 8%–12% of index losses over a 12-month period. Its current period runs from January 1 through December 31, 2026.

XTR The Fund seeks to track the performance of the Cboe S&P 500 Tail Risk Index before fees and expenses.

Why people hold it

• JANZ No cap, by design. Most buffer funds trade away a ceiling on gains; this series pioneered the uncapped format in 2020 and takes a partial slice of index upside instead.true-shares.com
• The buffer is the headline: it aims to absorb the first 8% to 12% of S&P 500 price losses (the adviser targets 10%) over the January to December period, then resets.true-shares.com
• Siblings start in other months (FEBZ, MARZ, JULZ and more), so the uncapped format can be spread across staggered start dates instead of one January entry point.

• XTR No cap on the gains. The hedge is bought with cash rather than funded by selling calls, so index rallies come through less the put premium and fees.sec.gov
• Costs 0.25%, well under half of what the defined-outcome funds it competes with typically charge for downside protection.
• Owns the roughly 500 S&P 500 stocks themselves, with the put position layered on top, rather than wrapping the index in a stack of options.sec.gov
• Rules-based and mechanical: puts are bought at 10% below the prevailing index level each quarter and held to expiration, with no manager guessing at timing.sec.gov

Worth knowing

• JANZ 0.80% sits near the typical buffer-fund fee, though cheaper takes exist: AUGP and PQX charge 0.50%, ZALT 0.69%.
• Uncapped is not free. Upside arrives as a share of index gains, not all of them, and option pricing sets that share each period.true-shares.comtrue-shares.com 2
• The reference is the S&P 500 Price Return Index, so dividends sit outside the math. It is also a small fund that trades thinly, which can mean wider spreads.

• XTR Protection starts about 10% down and resets quarterly, so garden-variety dips are absorbed in full and the gap widens if the market rallies mid-quarter.sec.gov
• Insurance is not free. The quarterly premium is a steady cost against plain index exposure, and in calm markets the puts expire worthless.sec.gov
• A small fund that trades thinly, so limit orders matter and subscale products carry more risk of being closed than the category's giants.

Full JANZ profile⁠

Full XTR profile⁠