AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 Uncapped Sep ETF (SEPU)

Looking at the institutional print for SEPU during Q2 2026, we see 30 funds holding around $154 million in capital. While there were some reductions and closures, the core institutional commitment to this defined-outcome vehicle remains firm. In our portfolio reviews, we value how these September series buffers allow clients to stay exposed to equities without taking the full brunt of a correction beyond the 15% floor.

On our options desk, the recent telemetry showing short interest in SEPU dropping 99.7% down to a mere 57 shares as of mid-August is fascinating. With an average daily volume around 11,051 shares, a days-to-cover of effectively 0.0 days indicates that tactical short-sellers have completely abandoned bearish bets against this buffer ETF. It's behaving precisely as intended for long-term defensive capital preservation.

When evaluating structured ETFs like SEPU for risk-averse mandates, candidates must understand the mechanics of the outcome period and the reference asset, which is the SPDR SandP 500 ETF Trust. Incepted on August 30, 2024, the fund's 12-month reset cycle means risk managers need to pay close attention to the exact entry and reset dates to calculate the active 15% buffer accurately.

The net asset value hovered around $30.69 with net assets scaling to approximately $152.7M to $160.8M by mid-2026. From a market maker's perspective, the 30-day median bid-ask spread of 0.16% and small premium/discount patterns around $0.05 demonstrate healthy liquidity on the Cboe BZX exchange, despite the non-diversified nature of the fund's holdings.

As a risk manager reviewing the fund's constraints, the 0.74% expense ratio is a crucial trade-off. You are paying for the structural protection of a 15% downside buffer combined with uncapped upside participation via FLEX options. For clients who cannot stomach a severe drawdown in the SandP 500, this cost is often deemed acceptable, provided they hold through the entire 12-month outcome period.