PQAP vs QTR

PQAPBPGIM Nasdaq-100 Buffer 12 ETF - April

QTRBGlobal X Nasdaq 100 Tail Risk ETF

In short

PQAP A one-year cushion on the Nasdaq-100, with a bit more padding than the category norm: PQAP absorbs the first 12% of a QQQ drop over each period starting April 1, and charges 0.50% to do it.

QTR QTR owns the Nasdaq-100 and buys puts 10% below the index, so it wears the first leg of a selloff and passes the deep-drop risk to the options market. Insurance you pay for, not a capped buffer.

Stated mandate

PQAP The Fund seeks to match QQQ’s price return up to a predetermined cap while buffering the first 12% of QQQ losses over a one-year target outcome period.

QTR QTR seeks to buffer market selloffs through a protective-put strategy that owns Nasdaq-100 stocks and buys 10% out-of-the-money puts on the Nasdaq-100 Index. It aims to generally track the Nasdaq-100 Quarterly Protective Put 90 Index's price and yield performance before fees and expenses.

Why people hold it

• PQAP The buffer runs 12 percentage points deep, versus the 10% cushion on the Innovator Nasdaq-100 buffer fund (QBUF) sitting in the same peer group.pgim.com
• 0.50% a year undercuts the typical Nasdaq-100 buffer fund, including QBUF at 0.79%. In a strategy where the option budget sets your cap, fee drag matters.
• April is one of four start months PGIM runs on this same 12% QQQ recipe (January, April, July, October), so entry points can be staggered instead of bunched.pgim.com
• Mechanically clean build: FLEX options on QQQ itself, a stated one-year outcome period, and one of the stronger risk profiles among Nasdaq-100 buffer funds.

• QTR Protection is bought outright rather than funded by selling upside calls, so the trade-off is the running cost of the puts instead of a ceiling on gains.globalxetfs.com
• 0.25% a year, a fraction of the going rate in its Nasdaq-100 downside-protection peer group, where 0.50% (PGIM's Buffer 12 series) to 0.79% (QBUF) is typical.
• The puts roll on the quarterly schedule set by its index, so there is no defined outcome period to time an entry around.
• Holds the Nasdaq-100 stocks directly, roughly 100 names, and sits among the stronger implementations in its peer group.

Worth knowing

• PQAP The upside cap is reset for each period and is unknown until it starts. Above it, QQQ's gains keep going without you.pgim.com
• The 12% buffer is measured before fees and expenses and applies to holders across a full period. Buy mid-period and your own cushion and cap differ from the headline terms.pgim.com
• Small and lightly traded next to the buffer giants, so spreads can be wider. It also launched in late 2024, giving it a short record.

• QTR The puts sit 10% out of the money. The first 10% of an index drop is fully yours; the hedge only engages past that.
• You pay put premiums whether or not markets fall, a standing cost that weighs on results in calm and rising markets.
• A small fund that trades thinly next to the big buffer franchises, so spreads can run wider. Limit orders help.

Full PQAP profile⁠

Full QTR profile⁠