SIXF vs ZALT

SIXFCAllianzIM U.S. Equity 6 Month Buffer10 Feb/Aug ETF

ZALTAInnovator U.S. Equity 10 Buffer ETF - Quarterly

In short

SIXF AllianzIM's February/August slot in a six-month buffer lineup: a 10% cushion against S&P 500 tracker declines, an upside cap that gets reset twice a year instead of once, and a fee under the buffer-fund median.

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

SIXF The Fund seeks capital appreciation with downside risk mitigation. It is an actively managed ETF investing in a laddered portfolio of six AllianzIM U.S. Equity 6 Month Buffer10 ETFs.

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

• SIXF Outcome periods run six months, resetting each February and August, so the cap is repriced twice as often as a 12-month buffer fund.
• 0.74% a year, below the 0.79% median for its shallow-buffer peer group, and it sits in the upper half of a crowded field.
• One rung of a six-fund calendar ladder (SIXJ, SIXZ, SIXD and siblings, all at 0.74%), so start dates can be staggered rather than pinned to a single month.
• Actively managed against a plain reference point, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, rather than a bespoke index nobody can look up.

• 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

• SIXF The buffer is a trade: roughly 10% of downside absorbed over the outcome period in exchange for a capped upside. Shares bought mid-period get whatever cushion and cap remain.
• Among the smaller, more lightly traded corners of the buffer world, which can mean wider bid-ask spreads than the headline names.
• Launched in 2024, so the record is short. Income is not part of the design; distributions have not been a feature.

• 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 SIXF profile⁠

Full ZALT profile⁠