FFTY vs PTMC

FFTYDCapForce IBD 50 ETF

PTMCAPacer Trendpilot US Mid Cap ETF

In short

FFTY Investor's Business Daily's IBD 50 stock list, wrapped in a fund. A computer rescreens the growth leaders every week, and a market-signal rule can shift half the index into Treasury bills.

PTMC A mid-cap index fund with a seatbelt built in. PTMC tracks a rules-based trend index that shifts the portfolio between roughly 400 US mid-cap stocks and defensive positioning, with no manager judgment in the loop. Running since 2015.

Stated mandate

FFTY The Fund aims to deliver the performance of the IBD 50 Index before fees and expenses.

PTMC The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return of the Pacer Trendpilot US Mid Cap Index.

Why people hold it

• FFTY The portfolio is rebuilt weekly against an 11-factor growth and technical screen, so fading names drop out in days rather than waiting on a quarterly review.sec.gov
• Built-in defensive gear: on certain market-wide signals, the index moves half its weight into Treasury bills at the next reconstitution and stays there until a reversal signal.sec.govsec.gov 2
• Concentrated on purpose. About 50 names, weighted by rank, so the highest-scoring stocks carry real weight instead of being diluted across hundreds of positions.sec.gov
• Want the IBD 50 as a fund? This is the only wrapper for it. No other ETF in the category tracks the same declared index.

• PTMC The trend rules do the deciding, not a portfolio manager's gut: the index itself dictates when to hold mid-cap equities and when to shift defensive.paceretfs.com
• Under the overlay sits a plain, broad basket of roughly 400 US mid caps, not a handful of concentrated picks.
• Live since 2015, so the signal has run through real market drawdowns and recoveries rather than a backtest.

Worth knowing

• FFTY The fee is 1.03%, above the category median, with no waiver currently reducing it. Trend peers such as WAMA (0.32%) and PTLC (0.60%) charge less.
• The prospectus itself flags that weekly rebalancing drives higher turnover than similar funds, which tends to mean more trading friction and taxable gains.sec.gov
• Thinly traded and small in assets next to the category's giants, so spreads and limit orders matter more at the point of entry and exit.

• PTMC The 0.60% fee buys the rules, not more stocks. Plain index wrappers in the same peer group, like VXF at 0.05%, simply hold the market and skip the overlay.
• Trend systems move on sustained direction, so a sharp drop and fast snapback can whipsaw the signal in both directions.paceretfs.com
• It trades lightly next to vanilla mid-cap index funds, which tends to mean wider bid-ask spreads at the moment of the trade.

Full FFTY profile⁠

Full PTMC profile⁠