Which resets first, ARLU or FLAO?

ARLU ends its outcome period on Mar 31, 2027 and FLAO on Mar 31, 2027. New terms are set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, ARLU or FLAO?

ARLU and FLAO both charge 0.74% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Share on X Download as PDF Open live Compare their flows Ask IQ about these two funds

ARLU vs FLAO: Cap, Buffer & Days Left

As of Oct 9, 2026 ARLU can fall 13.6% before its buffer engages and FLAO 6.3%. Net assets on Oct 8, 2026: $56m for AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 Uncapped ETF - Apr and $9m for AllianzIM U.S. Equity 6 Month Floor5 Apr/Oct ETF - Apr.

Both cost 0.74% a year; their one-year returns differ by 6.5 points; ARLU is 6.4 times larger.

	ARLU	FLAO
Expense ratio	0.74%	0.74%
Net assets, as of Oct 8, 2026	$56m	$9m
Total return, 1 year	+10.0%	+3.5%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published
Index fall to the buffer	16.5%	6.9%

13.6%

ARLU can fall this far before its buffer

6.3%

FLAO can fall this far before its buffer

uncapped

ARLU can still gain

5.7%

FLAO can still gain

ARLUNo cap

ARLU: reference +19.7% since period start, fund +14.7%; buffer 0 to −15; no cap; No cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.

FLAOFull floor

FLAO: reference +2.1% since period start, fund +1.0%; buffer −5 to floor; cap +7.1%; Full floor. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.

These are two different products. FLAO is a floor fund, which caps how far a holder can fall. ARLU is a buffer fund, which absorbs the first part of a fall and leaves everything below it with the holder.

Both are AllianzIM funds, so the difference between them is the terms rather than the house.

Where each one stands today

ARLU resets first, on Mar 31, 2027, 173 days from now; FLAO runs to Mar 31, 2027, 173 days. A fall from here reaches ARLU’s buffer after 13.6% and FLAO’s after 6.3%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.

Performance, window by window

	Total return		Gap to the reference's price return
Window	ARLU	FLAO	ARLU	FLAO
3 months	+2.3%	+2.3%	−0.9 pts	−0.9 pts
6 months	+11.4%	+5.3%	−3.1 pts	−9.3 pts
1 year	+10.0%	+3.5%	−6.0 pts	−12.5 pts

Each fund's gap is to its reference's price return, dividends left out: the basis the outcome period uses. Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →

On the same fields

ARLU

AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 Uncapped ETF - Apr · Absorbs the first 15% of loss on SPY and does not cap the gain, over a period ending Mar 31, 2027

FLAO

AllianzIM U.S. Equity 6 Month Floor5 Apr/Oct ETF - Apr · Absorbs losses from 5.0% to 100.0% on SPY and caps the gain at 7.1%, over a period ending Mar 31, 2027

Issuer AllianzIM AllianzIM

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 15% 5% to 100%

Outcome period Apr 1, 2026 to Mar 31, 2027 Oct 1, 2026 to Mar 31, 2027

Days left 173 173

Starting cap uncapped +7.1%

Can still gain uncapped 5.7%

Fall before buffer 13.6% 6.3%

Protection left, index points 15.0% of 15.0% 95.0% of 95.0%

Index return this period +19.7% +2.1%

Fund return this period +14.7% +1.0%

State today Uncapped Open

Expense ratio 0.74% 0.74%

Net assets, as of Oct 8, 2026 $56m $9m

As of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

ARLU in plain words

This fund has no cap. It takes a share of any further rise in SPY. The fund's price can fall 13.6% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 16.5% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 15.0% of the 15.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 173 days remained on Oct 9, 2026. On Mar 31, 2027 the period ends and new terms are set.

FLAO in plain words

From its price on Oct 9, 2026, the fund can gain about 5.7% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 6.3% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 6.9% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 95.0% of the 95.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. On Mar 31, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

Questions people ask

Which resets first, ARLU or FLAO?: ARLU ends its outcome period on Mar 31, 2027 and FLAO on Mar 31, 2027. New terms are set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, ARLU or FLAO?: ARLU and FLAO both charge 0.74% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

ARLU vs TAPR ARLU vs PMAP ARLU vs DDTA ARLU vs CPSP FLAO vs OCTT FLAO vs OCTU FLAO vs XBOC FLAO vs PBOC

SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust →All buffer ETFs ranked by the Downside Cover Score →How the scores are computed →ARLU on its own →FLAO on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

ARLU and FLAO filings on SEC EDGAR ↗AllianzIM page for ARLU ↗AllianzIM page for FLAO ↗

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

ETFIQ calculates every figure from each issuer’s published outcome-period terms. Buffer ETFs hold options on an index, not shares, so there is no holdings overlap to report.

Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.

Cite this page

ETFIQ, ARLU against FLAO, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/arlu-vs-flao

Open data

Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.