DNOV vs PSCX

DNOVCFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - November

PSCXBPacer Swan SOS Conservative (January) ETF

In short

DNOV A deep-buffer take on the S&P 500: you absorb the first 5% of a drop, the fund's design targets the next 25 points of losses, and your upside is capped for the year. The terms reset every November.

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

DNOV The Fund seeks returns matching the price return of the State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust up to a 12.93% upside cap, while buffering Underlying ETF losses between -5% and -30% during the November 24, 2025–November 20, 2026 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

• DNOV Deep buffer, not the entry-level kind: the design targets absorbing reference-fund losses from -5% down to -30% over each one-year outcome period, a 25-point band of cushion.ftportfolios.com
• One of twelve monthly siblings (DFEB, DMAR, DJUN and the rest), so entry dates can be laddered across the calendar instead of hinging on a single November start.
• Live since 2019 and through multiple full outcome periods, with a 0.85% fee that sits right at the median for deep-buffer funds.
• A multi-hundred-million-dollar fund from First Trust, one of the more established names running defined-outcome strategies.

• 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

• DNOV The cap is the price of the cushion, and it resets each November. Buy mid-period and your actual cap and remaining buffer differ from the headline terms.ftportfolios.com
• It references the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust's price return, so index dividends are outside the payoff, and the fund itself has not been making regular distributions.
• The first 5% of losses and anything past -30% land on you. Shares trade lightly, so spreads matter, and cheaper deep-buffer options exist (PSCX, PSCW at 0.49%).

• 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 DNOV profile⁠

Full PSCX profile⁠