GJUL vs PSMR

GJULCFT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - July

PSMRBPacer Swan SOS Moderate (April) ETF

In short

GJUL The July door into First Trust's moderate-buffer lineup: it aims to absorb the first 15% of an S&P 500 ETF price decline over a one-year outcome period, and in exchange your upside stops at a cap set when that period begins.

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

GJUL The Fund seeks to match the price return of the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust before fees and expenses, subject to a 13.82% upside cap, while buffering the first 15% of losses during the July 20, 2026–July 16, 2027 target 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

• GJUL The first 15% of the reference ETF's price loss over each outcome period is absorbed by the option structure, not by a manager's judgment call.
• Twelve month-stamped siblings run the same 15% recipe, so the calendar start is your choice. This one resets in July.
• The reference is the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, so the only moving parts are the buffer and the cap. No sector tilts, no stock picking.

• 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

• GJUL At 0.85%, it runs above the buffer-cohort median of 0.79%. Laddered peers like BUFF charge 0.10% and spread start dates for you.
• Buffer and cap apply to the full outcome period. Buy or sell partway through and you own part of a buffer and part of a cap, priced by the options.
• It targets price return, so S&P 500 dividends are not part of the package.

• 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 GJUL profile⁠

Full PSMR profile⁠