RSSE vs TBJL

RSSECFT Vest U.S. Equity Equal Weight Buffer ETF - September

TBJLBInnovator 20+ Year Treasury Bond 9 Buffer ETF - July

In short

RSSE Most buffer ETFs bolt their downside cushion onto the megacap-heavy S&P 500. This one uses the equal-weight version instead, buffering the first 10% of losses over a one-year outcome period that resets every September.

TBJL Buffer ETFs almost always wrap the S&P 500. This one wraps long-dated Treasuries, absorbing the first 9% of a 12-month price decline in exchange for a cap that resets every July. Duration risk with guardrails.

Stated mandate

RSSE The Fund seeks returns matching the price return of the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF, up to a predetermined cap, while buffering the first 10% of losses during the current outcome period.

TBJL The fund seeks to track the price return of the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT), subject to a 52.27% upside cap and protection against the first 9% of losses during the stated annual outcome period.

Why people hold it

• RSSE Buffers the first 10% of losses on the price return of the equal-weight S&P 500 ETF, so the cushion sits on a broadly spread index rather than a handful of megacaps.
• Fee of 0.85% a year, slightly under the middle of the buffer-ETF pack, and equal-weight defined-outcome funds are a small corner of that market.
• One rung of a ladder: sibling fund RSJN runs the same equal-weight buffer strategy from a June start at the same 0.85% fee, so entry months can be staggered.

• TBJL Buffer mechanics pointed at 20+ year Treasuries instead of stocks: the first 9% of the reference fund's price decline over the outcome period is absorbed before losses reach you.innovatoretfs.com
• 0.79% a year undercuts the typical buffer-fund fee, and the fund stands among the stronger implementations in its buffer peer group.
• Live since 2020, resetting the same July-to-June outcome period year after year, which covers the rate shock that hammered long-duration bonds.

Worth knowing

• RSSE Upside is capped. The cap is reset each September for the new outcome period, so gains beyond it in the reference index do not pass through.
• Small asset base and light trading, so spreads can run wider than in the largest buffer funds. Buying mid-period also changes the buffer and cap actually in play.
• Launched in 2024, so the track record is short, and the options structure is built to shape returns rather than pay income.

• TBJL The price of the buffer is a ceiling. Each period's upside cap is fixed when the period starts, and a Treasury rally beyond it doesn't reach you.innovatoretfs.com
• It targets the reference fund's price return, so the coupon income a Treasury bond fund passes along isn't part of the package. Distributions have not been part of the pattern.
• A small, thinly traded fund, so limit orders matter. Buy mid-period and your own buffer and cap differ from the stated terms until the July reset.

Full RSSE profile⁠

Full TBJL profile⁠