NOVZ vs XTR

NOVZDTrueShares Structured Outcome (November) ETF

XTRCGlobal X S&P 500 Tail Risk 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.

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

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.

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

• 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.

• 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

• 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.

• 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 NOVZ profile⁠

Full XTR profile⁠