GAUG vs PSMJ

GAUGCFT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - August

PSMJBPacer Swan SOS Moderate (July) ETF

In short

GAUG The August rung of First Trust's buffer ladder: it absorbs the first 15% of an S&P 500 drop over a one-year stretch, in exchange for a ceiling on the gains, reset every August. A deeper cushion than plain index exposure, with a lid as the price.

PSMJ Pacer's July-dated stop on the Swan SOS ladder: FLEX options on SPY that buffer the first 15% of a fall over a roughly one-year period, with upside capped in return. At 0.49%, it undercuts most of the buffer aisle.

Stated mandate

GAUG The fund seeks to track the price return of the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF up to an 11.89% upside cap while buffering the first 15% of losses during the August 18, 2025–August 21, 2026 outcome period.

PSMJ The Fund seeks to track the returns of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust up to a predetermined cap while providing a downside buffer over an approximately one-year period.

Why people hold it

• GAUG Absorbs the first 15% of a decline in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust over each one-year outcome period, in exchange for a cap on gains that resets every August.
• Twelve monthly siblings run the same 15% buffer playbook, so entry points can be staggered across the calendar instead of hinging on one start date.
• The reference is the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust itself, not a bespoke index nobody can look up.

• PSMJ Charges 0.49% a year against a 0.79% median for its buffered-SPY cohort, the same 0.79% Innovator's Power Buffer funds (PJUL, PJAN, POCT) charge for a similar job.
• The deal is legible: FLEX options on SPY absorb the first 15% of a decline over the outcome period, and match the ETF's gains up to a cap struck each July.paceretfs.compaceretfs.com 2
• Those FLEX options are customizable exchange-traded contracts settled through the Options Clearing Corporation, and Durango-based Swan Global Management sub-advises the strategy.paceretfs.com
• One of four Moderate-series funds with staggered start months (PSMD, PSMR, PSMJ, PSMO), so a July reset can be stacked against other entry points rather than standing alone.paceretfs.com

Worth knowing

• GAUG At 0.85% a year, it prices above much of its buffer cohort; Innovator's laddered BUFF lists 0.10%.
• Buy mid-period and your effective cap and cushion differ from the headline terms, which apply to shares held from one August reset to the next.
• Thinly traded next to the category's giants, so limit orders matter, and the options structure passes through no dividend income.

• PSMJ The 15% buffer and the cap belong to the full outcome period. Step in mid-period and you inherit whatever cap and buffer remain, not the starting terms.paceretfs.com
• Thinly traded next to the largest buffer funds, so spreads and limit orders deserve more of your attention at the point of entry.
• No regular income stream here: the options structure delivers its result through share price rather than distributions.paceretfs.com

Full GAUG profile⁠

Full PSMJ profile⁠