GMAR vs PSMR

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

PSMRBPacer Swan SOS Moderate (April) 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.

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

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.

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

• 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

• 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

• 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.

• 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 GMAR profile⁠

Full PSMR profile⁠