GMAY vs PSMJ

GMAYCFT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - May

PSMJBPacer Swan SOS Moderate (July) ETF

In short

GMAY First Trust runs a buffer fund for every month of the calendar, and GMAY holds the May slot: a 15% cushion on SPY's price return over a one-year outcome period, paid for with a cap on the upside set when the period begins.

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

GMAY The Fund seeks returns corresponding to the price return of the State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust, subject to an upside cap and protection against the first 15% of losses during the stated 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

• GMAY The deal is spelled out in the fund's own documents: protection against the first 15% of losses on SPY's price return, plus a stated cap, across a defined one-year outcome period.ftportfolios.com
• May is just one rung. GJAN through GDEC run the same 15% structure on a rolling monthly schedule, so start dates can be staggered instead of hostage to one entry point.
• The reference asset is the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust itself. Plain large-cap US equity price return, no custom index or factor tilt to decode.
• One of the easier funds in its buffer peer group to get in and out of, with a mid-sized asset base standing behind it.

• 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

• GMAY At 0.85%, it sits above the 0.79% median for its buffer cohort. Downside protection is a purchased feature, and the sticker shows it.
• The cap works both ways: big SPY years get trimmed. And the 15% buffer is measured from the start of the outcome period to its end, not day by day in between.
• Not an income vehicle. The options package is built to shape the payoff, not to pay out along the way.

• 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 GMAY profile⁠

Full PSMJ profile⁠