State Street Files S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 Laddered Buffer ETFs

State Street has filed for two laddered buffer ETFs tied to major U.S. equity benchmarks. The State Street S&P 500 Laddered 10% Buffer ETF would reference the State Street S&P 500 ETF Trust, while the State Street Nasdaq 100 Laddered 10% Buffer ETF would reference the SPDR Portfolio Nasdaq 100 ETF. Each fund seeks to capture upside up to a cap while protecting against approximately the first 10% of losses, although that protection is not guaranteed. The strategies use 12 overlapping tranches of roughly one-year FLEX and listed options, with one tranche expiring and resetting each month. The laddered structure is designed to reduce dependence on a single outcome period and investor entry date. Downside protection is financed by selling call options, which limits upside participation. The funds may also use futures, other ETFs, direct equities, cash and money market instruments.