JULT vs ZALT

JULTBAllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer10 Jul ETF

ZALTAInnovator U.S. Equity 10 Buffer ETF - Quarterly

In short

JULT A 10% cushion on an S&P 500 tracker, reset every July 1. JULT trades unlimited upside for a defined buffer across each 12-month window, and it has been running that trade since 2020 at a fee below the shallow-buffer norm.

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

JULT The Fund seeks to match the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust’s share-price returns at the end of the Outcome Period, subject to an upside Cap, while buffering the first 10% of losses in that underlying ETF.

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

• JULT The deal is written down in advance: match the S&P 500 tracker's share-price return to June 30, absorb the first 10% of its losses, and give up upside above a cap.
• 0.74% a year prices under the median fund in its shallow-buffer group and under 0.79% July rivals such as BJUL.
• Live since June 2020, so it has already rolled through multiple full July-to-June outcome periods instead of asking you to trust a fresh launch.
• Measured against dozens of dated shallow-buffer funds on the same reference, it lands among the stronger implementations in the group.

• 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

• JULT The cap is what pays for the cushion. Upside is capped, and the new level is struck from option pricing each July 1, so it differs from period to period.
• Protection stops at 10%: losses beyond that pass through. The reference is share-price return, so tracker dividends are not part of the payoff.
• Trading is thin next to the largest buffer ETFs, so bid-ask spreads weigh more, and buying mid-period means different terms than the stated cap and buffer.

• 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 JULT profile⁠

Full ZALT profile⁠