SIXO vs ZALT

SIXOBAllianzIM U.S. Equity 6 Month Buffer10 Apr/Oct ETF

ZALTAInnovator U.S. Equity 10 Buffer ETF - Quarterly

In short

SIXO Most buffer ETFs lock you into a 12-month wait. SIXO runs on six-month outcome periods, April and October, absorbing the first 10% of a drop in the S&P 500 ETF's price in exchange for a cap that resets twice as often.

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

SIXO The Fund seeks to match the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust’s share-price return at the end of each six-month Outcome Period, subject to an upside Cap and a first-10% downside loss buffer. It invests substantially all assets in FLEX Options referencing that ETF.

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

• SIXO Six-month outcome periods, April and October, so the 10% buffer and the upside cap re-set twice a year instead of once.
• 0.74% expense ratio, below the typical fee in the shallow-buffer peer group.
• AllianzIM runs the same 10% six-month buffer on other start months (SIXJ, SIXD, SIXZ), so entry dates can be laddered across the calendar.
• Live since 2021 and holding substantially all assets in FLEX options on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust: a plain, single-reference build with no stock-picking layer.

• 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

• SIXO The cap is set fresh at each period start from prevailing option prices, so the ceiling on upside is a number you learn at the reset, not in advance.
• Terms track the reference ETF's share-price return, so dividends sit outside the deal, and the fund itself has not been making distributions.
• Buffer and cap are measured across a full six-month period. Buy mid-period and the protection and upside left differ from the headline terms.

• 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 SIXO profile⁠

Full ZALT profile⁠