ETF Evaluator: AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 ETF () Follow This ETF

AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 ETF Overview

AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 ETF (QBSF) is an actively managed Nontraditional Equity Defined Outcome exchange-traded fund (ETF). AllianzIM launched the ETF in 2025.

The investment seeks to match, at the end of the current Outcome Period, the share price returns of the SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust (the “Underlying ETF”), up to a specified upside Cap, while providing a Buffer against the first 15% of Underlying ETF losses, reduced after taking into account management fees and other Fund fees and expenses. Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in instruments with economic characteristics similar to U.S. equity securities. The fund is non-diversified.

About AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 ETF (QBSF)

There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 0.75 years: Josiah Highmark (2025) and Aric Brodie (2026). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 ETF has 5 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 101.9% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the Nontraditional Equity ETF group. AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 ETF has 0.5% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 98.6% There is 0.5% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 ETF has 0.9% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $54 million in total assets, which is below the $183 million average for the Defined Outcome category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

QBSF Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 ETF expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Defined Outcome category. AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 ETF has an expense ratio of 0.64%, which is 11% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a B. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 0%, which indicates that it holds its assets around /years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 3% for the Defined Outcome category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 ETF returned 0.5%, which earned it a grade of C, as the Defined Outcome category had an average return of 0.2%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.

AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 ETF has a trailing yield of 0.00%, which is below the 0.48% category average. The fund normally distributes its income annually and its capital gains annually.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 3.3%, 2.6 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 7.2% over the past year (grade of D).

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