DJUL vs PSCQ

DJULCFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - July

PSCQBPacer Swan SOS Conservative (October) ETF

In short

DJUL Deep buffer, July vintage. DJUL leaves you the first 5% of an S&P 500 drawdown, then is built to absorb the next 25 points through its one-year outcome period. The price for that: upside stops at a cap reset each July.

PSCQ A deep buffer with a deductible: you take the first 5% of an S&P 500 slide, then the next 25 points get cushioned, up to a cap reset each October. At 0.49% a year, it is a low-cost way to run that trade.

Stated mandate

DJUL DJUL seeks to match the price return of the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, subject to a 13.60% upside cap. It seeks protection against underlying losses between 5% and 30% during the stated outcome period.

PSCQ The Fund seeks to match the returns of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust before fees and expenses up to a predetermined cap while providing a downside buffer over approximately one year.

Why people hold it

• DJUL The "deep" part is real: protection is designed to kick in from 5% down to 30% down on the reference fund, a wider shock absorber than standard 10% buffer products.ftportfolios.com
• One of twelve monthly copies of the same deep-buffer recipe, so start dates can be laddered across the calendar instead of riding on a single July reset.
• Fee lands at 0.85%, dead level with the median of its deep-buffer peer group.
• Running since 2020, with multiple full outcome periods behind it and a multi-hundred-million-dollar asset base.

• PSCQ 0.49% a year, at the cheap end of the SPY deep-buffer group. In a capped strategy, fees come straight out of the upside you are allowed to keep.
• Real depth of cushion: underlying losses from 5% down to 30% are absorbed by the options package, 25 percentage points of protection across a full one-year outcome period.paceretfs.com
• October start date. Pacer runs the same conservative recipe in January, April and July windows, so you choose which twelve months (and which cap) you live with.
• Plain plumbing: FLEX options on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, no stock picking, no leverage. It sits in the upper half of its deep-buffer peer group.paceretfs.com

Worth knowing

• DJUL Cheaper deep-buffer routes exist: Pacer's Swan SOS Conservative funds (PSCX, PSCW) charge 0.49% against 0.85% here.
• It targets the price return of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, so index dividends sit outside the payoff and the fund has not been an income payer.
• Buffer and cap are set July to July; step in mid-period and both look different. Trading is thin, so spreads are worth a look.

• PSCQ The cap is the price of the cushion. Upside stops at a level set when the October period begins, so a roaring S&P year leaves money on the table.
• The 5% to 30% math is built for holders of the full period. Buy mid-period and your effective buffer and cap depend on the price you pay.paceretfs.com
• A small fund that trades thinly, so spreads can run wider than on big index ETFs. It holds options, not dividend payers, so income is not part of the design.

Full DJUL profile⁠

Full PSCQ profile⁠