OCTZ vs SIXJ

OCTZCTrueShares Structured Outcome (October) ETF

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

In short

OCTZ Most buffer ETFs trade away your upside for downside protection. OCTZ skips the hard cap: it targets a 10% cushion against S&P 500 price losses over a 12-month October-to-October period, and leaves the upside open.

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

OCTZ The fund seeks to track the S&P 500 Price Return Index before fees and expenses while protecting the first 8% to 12% of index losses over a 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

• OCTZ No hard cap. It buffers the first 8% to 12% of S&P 500 price index losses per period (10% target) while leaving upside open, the design TrueShares built its lineup on.true-shares.com
• Fixed calendar: each outcome period runs October 1 to September 30, then resets, so the buffer's start and end dates are known up front.true-shares.com
• October is one of several monthly-dated siblings on the same index (JANZ, MAYZ, NOVZ, DECZ), so the entry month can be picked or laddered across the year.
• Trading since 2020, one of the longer-running uncapped buffer funds on the S&P 500 price index.true-shares.com

• 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

• OCTZ The buffer is a full-period outcome: buy mid-period and your cushion and starting level differ. Past the buffer, losses follow the index one for one.sec.gov
• The options reference the S&P 500 price index, so shareholders forgo the index's dividends.sec.gov
• Small and thinly traded, so spreads can run wider than at the largest buffer funds; 0.79% is the peer median but above laddered options like PSFF (0.10%).

• 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 OCTZ profile⁠

Full SIXJ profile⁠