GFEB vs PSMR

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

PSMRBPacer Swan SOS Moderate (April) 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.

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

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.

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

• 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.

• 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

• 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.

• 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 GFEB profile⁠

Full PSMR profile⁠