Which resets first, JANU or ZALT?

JANU ends its outcome period on Dec 31, 2026 and ZALT on Dec 31, 2026. A new cap is set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, JANU or ZALT?

JANU charges 0.74% a year and ZALT charges 0.69%, so ZALT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

JANU vs ZALT: which one stands where?

As of Oct 1, 2026 JANU can fall 8.3% before its buffer engages and ZALT 0.0%. AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 Uncapped ETF - Jan and Innovator U.S. Equity 10 Buffer ETF - Quarterly.

8.3%

JANU can fall this far before its buffer

0.0%

ZALT can fall this far before its buffer

uncapped

JANU can still gain

3.6%

ZALT can still gain

JANUNo cap

JANU: reference +11.8% since period start, fund +8.2%; buffer 0 to −15; no cap; No cap.

ZALTBetween buffer and cap

ZALT: reference 0.0% since period start, fund 0.0%; buffer 0 to −10; cap +3.6%; Between buffer and cap.

ETFIQ Downside Cover Score · JANU scores higherIf the market falls into a bear market from here, how much does the buffer absorb?

JANU 52

ZALT 34.3

0.2, the lowest in this set99.8, the highest

A percentile among the 293 buffer ETFs with a live outcome period. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All buffer ETFs ranked by it → How it is computed →

Where each one stands today

JANU resets first, on Dec 31, 2026, 92 days from now; ZALT runs to Dec 31, 2026, 92 days. A fall from here reaches JANU’s buffer after 8.3% and ZALT’s after 0.0%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.

Every figure is ETFIQ’s own, from the issuer’s published outcome-period terms. A buffer ETF holds FLEX options on its reference index rather than shares, so there is no holdings overlap between two of them to report.

Performance, window by window

	Total return		Gap to the reference
Window	JANU	ZALT	JANU	ZALT
3 months	+1.4%	+2.0%	−1.1 pts	−0.5 pts
6 months	+11.0%	+5.9%	−5.9 pts	−11.1 pts
1 year	+10.2%	+8.3%	−5.5 pts	−7.4 pts

JANU and ZALT over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →

On the same fields

JANU

AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 Uncapped ETF - Jan · Absorbs the first 15% of loss on SPY and does not cap the gain, over a period ending Dec 31, 2026

ZALT

Innovator U.S. Equity 10 Buffer ETF - Quarterly · Absorbs the first 10% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 3.6%, over a period ending Dec 31, 2026

Issuer AllianzIM Innovator

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 15% 10%

Outcome period Jan 1, 2026 to Dec 31, 2026 Sep 30, 2026 to Dec 31, 2026

Days left 92 92

Starting cap uncapped +3.6%

Can still gain uncapped 3.6%

Fall before buffer 8.3% 0.0%

Protection left, index points 15.0% of 15.0% 10.0% of 10.0%

Index return this period +11.8% 0.0%

Fund return this period +8.2% 0.0%

State today Uncapped Open

Expense ratio 0.74% 0.69%

Net assets $78m $795m

JANU and ZALT on the same fields, as of Oct 1, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

JANU in plain words

This fund has no cap. It takes a share of any further rise in SPY. The fund's price can fall 8.3% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 10.6% 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. 92 days remained on Oct 1, 2026. On Dec 31, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.

ZALT in plain words

From its price on Oct 1, 2026, the fund can gain about 3.6% more before it reaches its cap. Protection left, in index points: 10.0% of the 10.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level.

Questions people ask

Which resets first, JANU or ZALT?: JANU ends its outcome period on Dec 31, 2026 and ZALT on Dec 31, 2026. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, JANU or ZALT?: JANU charges 0.74% a year and ZALT charges 0.69%, so ZALT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

JANU vs PBJA JANU vs PJAN JANU vs PMJA JANU vs PQV ZALT vs PBOC ZALT vs PMOC ZALT vs POCT ZALT vs PQX

SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust →JANU on its own →ZALT on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

JANU filings on SEC EDGAR ↗AllianzIM page for JANU ↗ZALT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗Innovator page for ZALT ↗

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page

ETFIQ, JANU against ZALT, data as of Oct 1, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/janu-vs-zalt

Open data

Free to use with attribution. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology.