NVBT vs ZALT

NVBTCAllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer10 Nov ETF

ZALTAInnovator U.S. Equity 10 Buffer ETF - Quarterly

In short

NVBT A one-year hedge that starts its clock on November 1. NVBT absorbs the first 10% of an S&P 500 price decline over each outcome period, and in exchange your upside stops at a cap reset every November.

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

NVBT The actively managed ETF is designed to provide S&P 500-linked returns over a defined Outcome Period, subject to an upside cap and protection against the first 10% of index losses.

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

• NVBT The deal is written down before you take it: the first 10% of S&P 500 price losses in each outcome period are absorbed by the fund's options, with a cap set the same day.
• At 0.74%, it runs below the median fee for shallow-buffer S&P 500 funds, and matches AllianzIM's own November-, January- and April-start siblings JANT and APRT.
• AllianzIM runs the calendar, not just one month: twelve-month starts plus six-month Buffer10 pairs like SIXZ, so November is one rung on a ladder rather than a lone bet.
• Actively managed and self-rolling since its 2022 launch: the options book is rebuilt each November instead of leaving you to reset a collar yourself.

• 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

• NVBT The reference is the S&P 500 Price Index, so dividends sit outside the buffer-and-cap math entirely. The fund has paid no distributions.
• Buffer and cap describe a full outcome period, November 1 to October 31. Buy midstream and your own protection and headroom differ from the headline terms.
• One of the smaller, more thinly traded funds in a crowded buffer field, so spreads can run wider than at the giants. Limit orders do more work here.

• 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 NVBT profile⁠

Full ZALT profile⁠