Which resets first, ARLU or ZAPR?

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

Which is cheaper, ARLU or ZAPR?

ARLU charges 0.74% a year and ZAPR charges 0.79%, so ARLU is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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ARLU vs ZAPR: Cap, Buffer & Days Left

As of Oct 13, 2026 ARLU can fall 13.4% before its buffer engages and ZAPR 4.3%. Net assets on Oct 12, 2026: $56m for AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 Uncapped ETF - Apr and $68m for Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - 1 Yr April.

ARLU costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.7 points; ZAPR is 1.2 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

ARLU vs ZAPR: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
	ARLU	ZAPR
Expense ratio	0.74%	0.79%
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026	$56m	$68m
Total return, 1 year	+12.4%	+6.7%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published
Index fall to the buffer	16.3%

13.4%

ARLU can fall this far before its buffer

4.3%

ZAPR can fall this far before its buffer

uncapped

ARLU can still gain

2.7%

ZAPR can still gain

ARLUNo cap

ARLU: reference +19.5% since period start, fund +14.5%; buffer 0 to −15; no cap; No cap. Figures to Oct 13, 2026.

ZAPRAt its cap

ZAPR: reference +19.5% since period start, fund +4.0%; buffer Floor; cap +7.3%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 13, 2026.

Figures to Oct 13, 2026.

These are two different products. ZAPR 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.

ZAPR is already at its cap, so more rise in the index adds nothing to it before the period ends.

Where each one stands today

ARLU resets first, on Mar 31, 2027, 169 days from now; ZAPR runs to Mar 31, 2027, 169 days. A fall from here reaches ARLU’s buffer after 13.4% and ZAPR’s after 4.3%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.

Performance, window by window

Performance, window by window: ARLU vs ZAPR: Cap, Buffer & Days Left
	Total return		Gap to the reference's price return
Window	ARLU	ZAPR	ARLU	ZAPR
3 months	+2.8%	+1.6%	−1.0 pts	−2.2 pts
6 months	+10.6%	+3.1%	−2.9 pts	−10.3 pts
1 year	+12.4%	+6.7%	−6.7 pts	−12.5 pts
Since launch Not the same days: ARLU Apr 2024 · ZAPR Apr 2025	+31.6%	+10.8%	−17.4 pts	−27.9 pts

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

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

ZAPR

Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - 1 Yr April · Absorbs the whole loss on SPY and caps the gain at 7.3%, over a period ending Mar 31, 2027

Issuer AllianzIM Innovator

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 15% 100%

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

Days left 169 169

Starting cap uncapped +7.3%

Can still gain uncapped 2.7%

Fall before buffer 13.4% 4.3%

Protection left, index points 15.0% of 15.0% 100.0% of 100.0%

Index return this period +19.5% +19.5%

Fund return this period +14.5% +4.0%

State today Uncapped At cap

Expense ratio 0.74% 0.79%

Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026 $56m $68m

As of Oct 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

About ARLU

This fund has no cap. It takes a share of any further rise in SPY. The fund's price can fall 13.4% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 16.3% 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. 169 days remained on Oct 13, 2026. On Mar 31, 2027 the period ends and new terms are set.

About ZAPR

SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +7.3% for the period on Oct 13, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's own price can still drift up to about 2.7% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 4.3% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. Protection left, in index points: 100.0% of the 100.0% 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 ZAPR?: ARLU ends its outcome period on Mar 31, 2027 and ZAPR on Mar 31, 2027. New terms are set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, ARLU or ZAPR?: ARLU charges 0.74% a year and ZAPR charges 0.79%, so ARLU is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

ARLU vs AAPR ARLU vs APOC ARLU vs DDFA ARLU vs APRT ZAPR vs CPSP ZAPR vs FLAO ZAPR vs PAPR ZAPR vs DDFA

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

Where these figures came from

ARLU filings on SEC EDGAR ↗AllianzIM page for ARLU ↗ZAPR filings on SEC EDGAR ↗Innovator page for ZAPR ↗

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 pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, ARLU against ZAPR, data as of Oct 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/arlu-vs-zapr

Open data

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