OCTT vs ZALT

OCTTBAllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer10 Oct ETF

ZALTAInnovator U.S. Equity 10 Buffer ETF - Quarterly

In short

OCTT A one-year seatbelt on the S&P 500, rebuckled every October 1. OCTT cushions the first 10% of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust's price losses and trades away gains above a cap, with the options book run by Allianz Life's own investment arm.

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

OCTT The Fund seeks to match the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust’s share-price return at the end of each one-year Outcome Period, subject to an upside Cap and a buffer against the first 10% of 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

• OCTT The deal is written down, not implied: first 10% of the reference ETF's price losses buffered, upside capped, over a fixed October 1 to September 30 window that resets like clockwork.allianzim.com
• 0.74% a year, a notch under the typical shallow-buffer S&P fund and cheaper than the 0.79% charged by the Innovator October series (BOCT).
• Hedging is the parent's day job. AllianzIM is a wholly owned unit of Allianz Life, and it manages the FLEX options in-house instead of outsourcing the trade.tradersmagazine.comallianzim.com
• Running since 2020, it's one of the sturdier builds among shallow-buffer S&P funds, sitting in the upper half of a crowded 52-fund field.

• 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

• OCTT The 10% cushion is a full-period promise. Buy in mid-period or sell early and you get whatever the options are worth that day, not the headline buffer.allianzim.com
• Buffer and cap are stated before fees and expenses, so the 0.74% comes out of whatever the structure delivers.allianzim.com
• Thinly traded and built without an income component, so limit orders matter and the whole result shows up in the share price.

• 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 OCTT profile⁠

Full ZALT profile⁠