BALT vs PSFD

BALTBInnovator Defined Wealth Shield ETF

PSFDBPacer Swan SOS Flex (January) ETF

In short

BALT Most buffer ETFs hand you a cushion once a year. BALT rebuilds a 20% one every three months: four fresh starts against S&P 500 drawdowns. The trade-off is that the cap resets with it, and it starts low.

PSFD Absorbs the first 20% of a drop in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust over each 12-month period, with your upside capped in exchange. One of the original 2020 Pacer/Swan buffer funds, and priced under most deep-buffer rivals.

Stated mandate

BALT The fund seeks to track the return of SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), subject to a cap, while buffering investors against losses. It targets a 20% buffer during each three-month outcome period and resets quarterly.

PSFD The fund seeks to match the returns of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust up to a stated cap while mitigating specified downside losses through a structured buffer strategy over an approximately one-year period.

Why people hold it

• BALT Deep and short-dated: it targets a 20% buffer against losses in the S&P 500 ETF it references, over a three-month outcome period, then resets for the next quarter.innovatoretfs.com
• 0.69% a year, under the typical fee in its deep-buffer group, and it has been running the quarterly reset since launching in 2021.
• One of the larger funds doing 20% buffers on the S&P 500, and one of the strongest implementations in that peer group.

• PSFD 0.49% a year versus a 0.74% median for 20%-buffer S&P 500 funds, undercutting the AllianzIM month-series lineup (JANW, APRW, JUNW). When upside is capped, fees come straight out of the ceiling.
• Deep cushion, clean reset: FLEX options are structured to absorb the first 20% of underlying losses over the roughly one-year period, with a new cap struck at the start of each period.paceretfs.com
• Siblings run the same recipe on other calendars (PSFM in April, PSFJ in July), so start dates can be staggered instead of pinned to one January strike. Standing sits in the upper half of the deep-buffer group.

Worth knowing

• BALT A deep buffer over a short window buys a low ceiling. The cap is set fresh each three-month period, and it is far tighter than what annual buffer funds start with.
• The 20% cushion is measured from the start of each outcome period. Buy mid-quarter and the buffer and cap you actually own differ from the headline terms.innovatoretfs.com
• Cheaper 20% buffer options exist: PBFR at 0.50%, Pacer's Swan SOS Flex funds (PSFJ, PSFM) at 0.49%.

• PSFD Thinly traded. Spreads can be wider and larger orders harder to fill than in the giants of the buffer aisle.
• No income stream: the fund holds options on an S&P 500 tracker rather than the stocks, and it has not paid a distribution.paceretfs.com
• Buffer and cap run start to finish of the period and are set before fees and expenses. Shares bought mid-period carry different remaining cushion and headroom.paceretfs.com

Full BALT profile⁠

Full PSFD profile⁠