At a glance
JANW charges 0.74% a year, below the 0.86% average of the 7 funds most like it (the cheapest of 8). It has $347.4M in assets, the 8th largest of that group. Over the past year it returned +9.2% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%), the weakest of those 8 funds; over three years it returned +12.2% a year.
The short version
AllianzIM U.S. Large Cap Buffer20 Jan ETF (JANW) holds FLEX options on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY). It aims to match SPY's price return over each calendar year, up to a cap, while absorbing the first 20% of losses. For 2026 the cap is 9.73% after fees. At 0.74% a year, JANW is the cheapest of eight buffer funds compared here, but its one- and three-year returns ranked last.
Price history
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JANW +9.2% over the year to Oct 27, 2026, total return with distributions reinvested.
How it has behaved
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | Since start | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JANW official prospectus, to Dec 31, 2025 | — | +10.05% | — | +8.15% | — | — |
| JANW price data to Oct 27, 2026 | +7.5% | +9.2% | +12.2% | — | — | +11.8% |
- Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, JANW returned +9.2%, 8th of 8 among similar funds.
- Its worst full calendar year was 2025 (+10.1%); its best was 2023 (+14.6%).
- The deepest fall in its price history was 8.7% (Feb 19, 2025 to Apr 8, 2025), recovered by Jun 6, 2025.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data | Prospectus (official) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +7.5% | — |
| 2025 | +10.1% | +10.05% |
| 2024 | +11.0% | +11.09% |
| 2023 | +14.6% | +14.69% |
| 2022 | — | -0.65% |
| 2021 | — | +6.20% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Before this security existed |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Not in the price data, which starts Oct 31, 2022 |
What's inside
As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 0 securities; the ten largest made up 0% of assets.
| Holding | Weight |
|---|
By country
By asset type
What changed recently
- Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $1.9M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
- Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +1.61%, +0.09%, +0.63%.
How it works
JANW does not own stocks directly. Its N-PORT filing as of July 31, 2026 listed four FLEX options. These are customized options that trade on an exchange. All four are on SPY and all expire December 31, 2026. SPY is a unit investment trust that holds the stocks in the S&P 500, weighted by company size. As of January 31, 2026, the index held 503 securities from 500 companies, with heavy exposure to information technology.
Each option has a job. A call with a $5.11 strike, worth about 103% of assets, behaves much like owning SPY. A bought put at $681.99 and a sold put at $545.54 create the buffer: they cover SPY losses between those two prices. A sold call at $753.32 sets the cap. For the period from January 1 to December 31, 2026, the cap is 10.47% before fees and 9.73% after the 0.74% fee. The buffer is 20% before fees and 19.26% after. Losses beyond the buffer fall fully on shareholders.
Each January the fund buys new options and sets a new cap, which is likely to differ. The stated outcomes apply only to shares held for the full period. Someone who buys mid-year after SPY has risen gets less room below the cap and may get less of the buffer. The fund does not receive SPY's dividends, and it has paid no distributions.
What it really costs
- JANW charges 0.74% a year, versus an average of 0.86% for the similar funds below (1st of 8, cheapest first).
- Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $76 in the first year and $918 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).
| Cost of $10,000 (SEC example) | 1 yr | 3 yrs | 5 yrs | 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JANW | $76 | $237 | $411 | $918 |
Structure and tax notes
- Organized as a unit investment trust: it cannot lend out its securities or reinvest dividends between payouts, which can create a small drag versus similar open-end ETFs.
- Uses options to limit losses within a range (the buffer) in exchange for a cap on gains over each outcome period; results depend on when you buy relative to the period start.
In a retirement portfolio
JANW trades away part of the stock market's upside, and all of its dividends, for a buffer against the first 20% of S&P 500 price losses each calendar year.
JANW launched on December 31, 2020, so it did not exist during the 2008 crisis or the 2020 COVID crash. In calendar 2022, a bear market year for US stocks, it lost 0.65%. Its worst quarter was a 5.56% drop in the quarter ended June 30, 2022. Price history starts October 31, 2022. Since then, its deepest fall was 8.7%, from February 19 to April 8, 2025, and it recovered by June 6, 2025. For a retiree who may need to sell shares in a bad year, smaller drops can help. But the buffer only applies to a full calendar-year hold.
JANW pays no income, so it doesn't fit an income role. It costs 0.74% a year. In the SEC's standard example, that is $76 in the first year and $918 over 10 years on $10,000. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.
Who it may suit — and who should look elsewhere
May suit
- Investors who want S&P 500 exposure with a buffer against the first 20% of SPY price losses each calendar year.
- People who can buy near January 1 and hold through December 31, when the cap and buffer apply as designed.
- Cost-conscious buffer-fund buyers: at 0.74%, JANW was the cheapest of eight buffer funds compared, below the 0.86% average.
Look elsewhere if
- Income seekers: JANW does not receive SPY's dividends and has paid no distributions.
- Investors who want full stock-market gains: the 2026 cap is 9.73% after fees, and JANW's one- and three-year returns ranked last among peers.
- Anyone likely to buy or sell mid-year, when returns can differ sharply from the stated cap and buffer.
Close alternatives
Matched by other buffer (defined-outcome) funds, largest first.
| Fund | Cost | Net assets | 1 yr | 3 yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JANW this fund | 0.74% | $347.4M | +9.2% | +12.2% |
| BUFR FT Vest Laddered Buffer ETF | 0.95% | $10.49B | +11.6% | +16.8% |
| BUFD FT Vest Laddered Deep Buffer ETF | 0.95% | $2.04B | +9.5% | +13.9% |
| PJAN Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - Ja… | 0.79% | $1.44B | +10.5% | +14.8% |
| PDEC Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - De… | 0.79% | $984.1M | +11.6% | +14.9% |
| FDEC FT Vest US Equity Buffer ETF - December | 0.85% | $1.31B | +12.9% | +18.5% |
| FJAN FT Vest US Equity Buffer ETF - January | 0.85% | $1.47B | +12.3% | +17.4% |
| FFEB FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer Fund - February | 0.85% | $1.42B | +12.9% | +18.6% |
Questions investors ask
How does the JANW buffer work?
JANW uses FLEX options on SPY to absorb the first 20% of SPY's price losses over a calendar year. That is 19.26% after the 0.74% fee. In return, gains are capped. For January 1 to December 31, 2026, the cap is 10.47% before fees and 9.73% after. If SPY falls more than 20%, shareholders bear the extra loss. The prospectus warns that a shareholder could lose their entire investment.
Does JANW pay dividends?
No. JANW holds options on SPY, not SPY itself or the underlying stocks. So it does not receive the dividends that SPY pays, and it has recorded no distributions. Its returns track only SPY's share price, within the cap and buffer. Over long periods, missing those dividends is a real cost compared with owning an S&P 500 fund directly.
What happens if I buy JANW in the middle of the year?
Your results will differ from the stated cap and buffer, which apply only from January 1 to December 31. If SPY has already risen, you get less room before hitting the cap. If SPY has already fallen, part of the buffer may be used up, or there may be more buffer left than you'd expect. The fund resets its options and sets a new cap each January.
What's the difference between JANW and PJAN?
Both are January-reset buffer ETFs on US large-cap stocks. JANW costs 0.74% a year and PJAN, from Innovator, costs 0.79%. PJAN returned more as of October 27, 2026: 10.5% over one year versus 9.2% for JANW, and 14.8% a year over three years versus 12.2%. PJAN is also much larger, with about $1.4 billion in net assets as of July 31, 2026, compared with about $347 million for JANW.
Is JANW good for retirement?
It depends on the job it needs to do. JANW lost 0.65% in calendar 2022, and its deepest fall since October 2022 was 8.7% in early 2025, recovered in about two months. That may appeal to retirees who worry about large losses. On the other hand, it pays no income, it caps gains, and it costs 0.74% a year. Its protection also works as designed only for full calendar-year holds.