DFEB vs PSCW

DFEBCFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - February

PSCWCPacer Swan SOS Conservative (April) ETF

In short

DFEB A buffer with a deductible. DFEB lets the first 5% of a drop in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust land on you, then covers the next 25 points, in exchange for an upside cap that resets every February.

PSCW A 25% cushion against S&P 500 losses for 0.49%, well under the going rate in the deep-buffer aisle. Options do the work: index-like upside to a yearly cap, the first 25% of a decline absorbed, and the whole contract reset every April.

Stated mandate

DFEB The Fund seeks to match the price return of the State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust before fees and expenses, subject to an 11.87% upside cap, while protecting against Underlying ETF losses from -5% through -30% during the February 23, 2026–February 19, 2027 outcome period.

PSCW The Fund seeks to match the returns of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, before fees and expenses, up to a predetermined upside cap while providing a downside risk-mitigation buffer over an approximate one-year period.

Why people hold it

• DFEB Deep coverage where it hurts: the fund targets protection against reference-ETF losses from -5% through -30%, a 25-point band, over each one-year outcome period.
• One of twelve monthly vintages on the same reference ETF (DMAR, DJUN, DDEC and the rest), so entries can be laddered across the calendar instead of hinging on one start date.
• Running since 2020, it has rolled through several full outcome periods, and it sits in the upper half of its deep-buffer peer group.
• At 0.85%, the fee sits right at the median for deep-buffer funds tracking this kind of strategy.

• PSCW Costs 0.49% while the typical deep-buffer peer sits nearer 0.85% (DMAR is 0.85%, UFEB 0.79%). When your upside is capped, the fee you skip is upside you keep.
• Deep by design: the buffer aims to absorb the first 25% of the referenced S&P 500 ETF's decline, before fees, over an approximate one-year period starting each April 1.paceretfs.com
• One reference asset, one buffer, one cap, built with FLEX options. No factor tilt, no stock picking, nothing to second-guess about what is inside.paceretfs.com
• Sibling funds (PSCX, PSCQ, PSCJ) run the same conservative strategy on different reset months, so an April start date is a choice rather than the only option.paceretfs.com

Worth knowing

• DFEB The trade for depth: you absorb the first 5% of losses yourself, and gains stop at a cap that is reset each February from option pricing at the time.
• It tracks price return only, so the reference ETF's dividends are not passed along, and the fund has not been paying distributions.
• Cheaper deep-buffer options exist (PSCX and PSCW run 0.49%), and DFEB trades lightly, so limit orders are the sane way in and out.

• PSCW Thinly traded next to the giants of the buffer world, so spreads can be wide and entry and exit deserve attention.
• The cap is reset each April from whatever options pricing allows, and it is measured before fees. Buying mid-period means a different buffer and cap than the headline terms.paceretfs.com
• Not an income vehicle: the structure has not paid a distribution over the past year, so results show up in the share price.

Full DFEB profile⁠

Full PSCW profile⁠