DMAR vs PSCX

DMARCFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - March

PSCXBPacer Swan SOS Conservative (January) ETF

In short

DMAR Deep buffer, March vintage: DMAR wears the first 5% of a drop in the S&P 500 ETF it references, then absorbs the next 25 points, in exchange for an upside cap that resets each March. The terms are written into the prospectus, not left to a manager's hunch.

PSCX A 25% deep buffer against the S&P 500, reset every January, for 0.49% a year, well under the typical fee in its deep-buffer group. The trade-off: a cap on the upside, set fresh each outcome period.

Stated mandate

DMAR The Fund seeks to match the price return of the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, before fees and expenses, up to a 13.07% cap while buffering the underlying ETF's losses in the 5%-to-30% band during the March 23, 2026–March 19, 2027 outcome period.

PSCX The fund seeks to match the pre-fee returns of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust up to a predetermined cap while providing a downside buffer over approximately one year.

Why people hold it

• DMAR Deep, not decorative: the options package targets losses in the 5% to 30% band on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust across each annual outcome period.ftportfolios.com
• One of twelve monthly vintages in First Trust's deep buffer lineup, running since 2021, so entry points and reset dates can be staggered across the calendar.
• The reference asset is the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust itself: plain large-cap US equity, no factor tilt, no stock-picking discretion layered on top.
• Ranks among the stronger implementations in its 18-fund deep buffer cohort, with risk behavior and trading quality doing most of the lifting.

• PSCX At 0.49%, one of the cheaper ways to buy a deep buffer: cohort peers DMAR (0.85%) and UFEB (0.79%) charge more for a similar job.
• The cushion is deep. The structure aims to absorb the first 25% of SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust losses over an approximately one-year outcome period.paceretfs.com
• Pacer runs the same recipe on a quarterly calendar (PSCW in April, PSCQ in October), so the January reset is a choice of start date, not the only option.
• Live since 2020, so the strategy has cycled through several full outcome periods, not one flattering stretch.

Worth knowing

• DMAR 0.85% is the going rate for deep buffers, but Pacer's SOS Conservative funds (PSCX, PSCW) run a similar playbook for 0.49%.
• It follows price return only, so index dividends are not passed through and income is not part of the design.
• The first 5% of a decline is unbuffered, the upside is capped, and both the cap and the remaining buffer shift for anyone buying mid-period.

• PSCX Upside is capped. A new cap is set at the start of each outcome period, and a deeper buffer generally comes with a lower ceiling.paceretfs.com
• Buffer and cap are measured over the full outcome period and stated before fees. Buy mid-period and your own cushion and ceiling differ from the headline terms.paceretfs.com
• A small, thinly traded fund, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than on mainstream index ETFs.

Full DMAR profile⁠

Full PSCX profile⁠