GFEB vs PSMJ

GFEBCFT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - February

PSMJBPacer Swan SOS Moderate (July) ETF

In short

GFEB A one-year seatbelt on the S&P 500: GFEB soaks up the first 15% of losses over its outcome period, and in exchange your upside stops at a cap that gets reset every February.

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

GFEB The Fund seeks to match the price return of the State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust up to a 12.05% upside cap, while buffering the first 15% of losses over the February 23, 2026–February 19, 2027 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

• GFEB Absorbs the first 15% of losses on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust over each one-year outcome period, a cushion written into the fund's terms rather than left to a manager's judgment.ftportfolios.com
• What's being buffered is plain vanilla US large cap, the S&P 500 via the SPDR trust, not a bespoke index engineered around the options math.
• February is simply this fund's gate. First Trust runs the same 15% structure across a dozen reset months (GJAN, GMAR, GJUN and the rest), so entry dates can be staggered.
• Each February the outcome period rolls into a fresh one with a new cap and a new 15% buffer, so there is no options expiry for a shareholder to roll by hand.

• 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

• GFEB 0.85% a year sits above the typical buffer-fund fee, and some rivals go far lower: the laddered BUFF lists 0.10%.
• The upside ceiling is the price of the cushion: gains stop at the cap, and both cap and buffer are measured over the full period, not from a mid-period purchase.
• Trades lightly next to the largest buffer funds, so spreads deserve attention. It has also made no distributions in the past year; any return shows up in the price.

• 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 GFEB profile⁠

Full PSMJ profile⁠