XIDE vs XTR

XIDECFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer & Premium Income ETF - December

XTRCGlobal X S&P 500 Tail Risk ETF

In short

XIDE Most buffer funds swap upside for a cap. This one swaps it away entirely: it sells at-the-money calls on its S&P 500 reference fund, buffers the first 10% of that fund's losses, and pays the option premium out monthly.

XTR Most downside-protection ETFs sell away your upside to pay for it. XTR pays cash instead: it owns the S&P 500 stocks and buys 10% out-of-the-money puts every quarter, leaving the upside uncapped.

Stated mandate

XIDE The Fund seeks approximately 7.08% annualized income before fees and expenses while buffering the first 10% of losses of its underlying ETF during the December 22, 2025–December 18, 2026 outcome period.

XTR The Fund seeks to track the performance of the Cboe S&P 500 Tail Risk Index before fees and expenses.

Why people hold it

• XIDE The deal is stated up front: no gains above the reference ETF's price on day one of the period, in exchange for a set income target and a buffer on its first 10% of losses.sec.gov
• Premium collected from the calls sits in short-term Treasuries, and the cash goes out monthly rather than piling up until the annual reset.ftportfolios.com
• Terms are re-struck every December for a fresh one-year period, so the income target is repriced to market conditions instead of frozen at the 2023 launch level.sec.gov

• XTR No cap on the gains. The hedge is bought with cash rather than funded by selling calls, so index rallies come through less the put premium and fees.sec.gov
• Costs 0.25%, well under half of what the defined-outcome funds it competes with typically charge for downside protection.
• Owns the roughly 500 S&P 500 stocks themselves, with the put position layered on top, rather than wrapping the index in a stack of options.sec.gov
• Rules-based and mechanical: puts are bought at 10% below the prevailing index level each quarter and held to expiration, with no manager guessing at timing.sec.gov

Worth knowing

• XIDE At 0.85% a year it sits toward the pricier end of the buffer shelf; peers like BUFB (0.10%) and ZALT (0.69%) charge less for their own flavor of 10% protection.
• Outcomes are built for the full December-to-December period. Enter mid-period and your starting point differs, and below the buffer, losses track the reference ETF one for one.sec.gov
• A small fund that trades thinly, so spreads and fill quality matter more here than with the largest names in the buffer aisle.

• XTR Protection starts about 10% down and resets quarterly, so garden-variety dips are absorbed in full and the gap widens if the market rallies mid-quarter.sec.gov
• Insurance is not free. The quarterly premium is a steady cost against plain index exposure, and in calm markets the puts expire worthless.sec.gov
• A small fund that trades thinly, so limit orders matter and subscale products carry more risk of being closed than the category's giants.

Full XIDE profile⁠

Full XTR profile⁠