NOVZ vs SIXJ

NOVZDTrueShares Structured Outcome (November) ETF

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

In short

NOVZ Most buffer funds make you hand over an upside cap in exchange for downside protection. NOVZ states no cap: its objective is tracking the S&P 500 price index before fees while buffering the first 8% to 12% of losses over each twelve-month period.

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

NOVZ The Fund seeks to track the S&P 500 Price Return Index before fees and expenses while using an options-based strategy intended to buffer the first 8% to 12% of index losses over each twelve-month 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

• NOVZ Written without a stated upside cap: track the S&P 500 Price Return Index before fees and expenses, with the first 8% to 12% of index losses buffered each twelve-month period.
• The outcome period resets every November 1 and runs to the end of October, and sibling funds start in other months (JANZ, MAYZ, JUNZ, OCTZ, DECZ) on the same index.
• Trading since 2020, so the November series has a multi-year live record instead of a backtest, inside a standard 1940 Act fund wrapper.

• 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

• NOVZ The 0.79% fee sits right at the middle of the S&P 500 buffer group, and cheaper routes to the same index exist, such as BUFP at 0.50%.
• A small fund that trades thinly, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than the category's largest names.
• The buffer is a targeted 8% to 12% range measured across the full November-to-October period. Buying mid-period changes your starting point and the protection left.

• 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 NOVZ profile⁠

Full SIXJ profile⁠