DECW vs PSFD

DECWCAllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer20 Dec ETF

PSFDBPacer Swan SOS Flex (January) ETF

In short

DECW SPY's price move for a year, with the first 20% of losses absorbed and a ceiling on the upside. DECW is the December door in AllianzIM's Buffer20 ladder: the clock starts December 1, resets each November 30, and a fresh cap is set annually.

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

DECW The Fund seeks to match the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust’s share-price return at the end of each one-year Outcome Period, subject to an upside Cap, while buffering the first 20% of losses. It implements this strategy mainly with FLEX Options referencing that ETF.

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

• DECW Deep end of the buffer world: the first 20 percentage points of the reference ETF's decline over the Dec 1 to Nov 30 period are absorbed, built with FLEX options rather than manager judgment.
• At 0.74%, it charges exactly the median fee for deep-buffer funds. You're not paying a premium for the December start date.
• One of twelve AllianzIM Buffer20 funds, one per starting month (MAYW, JUNW, AUGW and the rest), so start dates can be staggered across the calendar instead of concentrated in one.
• No mystery about the terms: outcome period dates, the cap and the buffer are posted daily on the fund's own website, before you commit.sec.gov

• 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

• DECW It targets the reference ETF's share-price return, not total return. Index dividends aren't part of the payoff, and income isn't what this structure is built to produce.
• The same 20% buffer sells cheaper in the neighborhood: PSFJ and PSFM at 0.49%, BALT at 0.69%.
• Thinly traded, so entry and exit costs deserve a look. The cap and buffer apply in full only from the December start to the November finish; mid-period buyers get different math.sec.gov

• 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 DECW profile⁠

Full PSFD profile⁠