GMAR vs PSMJ

GMARCFT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - March

PSMJBPacer Swan SOS Moderate (July) ETF

In short

GMAR A March-dated buffer fund: it absorbs the first 15% of an SPY price drop over each one-year outcome period, and in exchange your upside stops at a cap First Trust resets every March.

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

GMAR The Fund seeks to match the price return of the State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust up to a 14.10% cap while protecting against the first 15% of losses during the specified 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

• GMAR The cushion is 15%, one of the deeper standard buffers out there: the fund is built to eat the first 15% of the reference ETF's price decline over the outcome period.ftportfolios.com
• March is just one door. Twelve siblings (GJAN through GDEC) run the same 15% recipe on different start months, so entry dates can be laddered rather than guessed.ftportfolios.com
• The rules are printed before you commit: buffer size, reference asset (SPY price return) and the exact outcome start and end dates all come from First Trust's own documents.ftportfolios.com

• 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

• GMAR The 0.85% fee runs above the middle of the buffer peer group, and a laddered alternative like BUFF charges 0.10% for a broadly similar job.
• It tracks SPY's price return, so dividends sit outside the deal, and there are no fund distributions either. Buy or sell mid-period and you get only part of the buffer and cap.
• Volume is thin next to the headline buffer funds, so the bid-ask spread is worth a look before trading.

• 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 GMAR profile⁠

Full PSMJ profile⁠