GAUG vs PSMR

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

PSMRBPacer Swan SOS Moderate (April) 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.

PSMR A 15-point cushion on SPY, reset every April, for 0.49% a year while the typical buffer fund charges more. Pacer and Swan's moderate tier trades away some upside (a cap set each period) for a floor you know going in.

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.

PSMR The Fund seeks to match 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.

• PSMR Charges 0.49% a year against a 0.79% median in its buffered-SPY cohort, and undercuts Pacer's own single-month siblings like PJUL and POCT at 0.79%.
• The contract is spelled out: a 15-point buffer against SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust losses over roughly a one-year period, with upside capped at a level set when the period begins.paceretfs.com
• Terms reset on April 1 each year, so the new buffer and cap arrive on a known calendar date instead of whenever you happened to buy in.paceretfs.com
• Running since 2021, so this April series has cycled through several complete outcome periods rather than being a fresh launch with a paper track record.

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.

• PSMR Thinly traded next to the biggest names in buffer land, so spreads and order size are worth a look before you place a trade.
• The cap cuts both ways: big SPY years get trimmed, and the stated buffer and cap only line up in full for a holder who rides one April reset to the next.
• Not an income vehicle. It has not been paying a regular distribution, so whatever the strategy delivers shows up in the share price.

Full GAUG profile⁠

Full PSMR profile⁠