MARZ vs XTR

MARZDTrueShares Structured Outcome (March) ETF

XTRCGlobal X S&P 500 Tail Risk ETF

In short

MARZ A March-dated buffer fund with an unusual twist: TrueShares defines the downside (the first 8% to 12% of S&P 500 price-index losses each 12-month period, dividends excluded) without naming an upside cap in its objective.

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

MARZ The fund seeks returns tracking the S&P 500 Price Return Index while buffering the first 8%–12% of index losses during each 12-month March-to-March investment period.

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

• MARZ No stated upside cap in its mandate. The floor is spelled out, the ceiling isn't, which is rare in a category built on trading away the top end.
• Part of a monthly ladder. Sister funds run the same strategy off other start months (FEBZ, JULZ, AUGZ, SEPZ), so the entry calendar isn't only March.
• Live since 2021, so its March-to-March reset has been through multiple full cycles rather than existing only on paper.

• 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

• MARZ The buffer is a range, not a fixed number. Where it lands between 8% and 12% is set at the start of each March period, not known in advance.
• At 0.79% the fee sits right at the median for its buffer peer group, and cheaper structures exist there (ZALT at 0.69%, BUFB at 0.10%).
• One of the smaller, lightly traded funds in its category, which typically shows up as wider bid-ask spreads at the moment you transact.

• 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 MARZ profile⁠

Full XTR profile⁠