SIXD vs ZALT

SIXDBAllianzIM U.S. Equity 6 Month Buffer10 Jun/Dec ETF

ZALTAInnovator U.S. Equity 10 Buffer ETF - Quarterly

In short

SIXD Most buffer ETFs lock you into a full year. SIXD runs six-month laps: the first 10% of a decline in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust is cushioned, a fresh cap is set each period, and the clock restarts every June and December.

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

SIXD The Fund seeks to match the share-price return of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust at the end of each six-month 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

• SIXD Six-month laps instead of twelve. The 10% buffer and a new cap reset at each period start (June 1 and December 1), so terms are repriced twice as often as an annual buffer fund.
• At 0.74%, it comes in under the typical shallow-buffer fund's 0.79%, and under Innovator's monthly B-series (BJUN, PJUN) charging 0.79%.
• In a crowded shallow-buffer field, this rates as one of the stronger implementations in its peer group, with terms defined in the fund's own filings rather than left to discretion.
• AllianzIM runs the same six-month recipe on staggered start months (SIXZ, SIXJ, SIXF), so the Jun/Dec version is one rung of a ladder rather than a one-off.

• 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

• SIXD The cap is what pays for the cushion. Upside is limited every period, and the next period's cap isn't known until that period begins.
• Outcomes are measured point to point at the period's end. Buy mid-period and you inherit whatever buffer and cap remain, and declines past 10% land on you.
• Launched in 2024, so the track record is short, and distributions haven't been part of the picture 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 SIXD profile⁠

Full ZALT profile⁠