GNOV vs PSMR

GNOVCFT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - November

PSMRBPacer Swan SOS Moderate (April) ETF

In short

GNOV First Trust's November rung in a 12-month buffer ladder: it follows SPY's price return (dividends excluded), absorbs the first 15% of a period's losses, and caps the upside in exchange.

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

GNOV The Fund seeks to match the price return of the State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust, subject to a predetermined upside cap and protection against the first 15% of losses during the stated 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

• GNOV The cushion is written into the fund's terms: the first 15% of SPY's price decline over the outcome period is absorbed before losses reach you.
• The outcome period runs November to November and resets annually, so it slots in as one rung of First Trust's monthly moderate-buffer ladder (GJAN, GAPR, GJUL and the rest).
• Reference asset is SPY itself, plain vanilla US large caps, not a bespoke options index. And it comes in a registered 1940 Act fund, not a bank-issued note.

• 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

• GNOV At 0.85%, the fee sits above the 0.79% median for its buffer peer group and far above laddered options like BUFF at 0.10%.
• Buffer and cap are engineered for the full November-to-November stretch. Buy mid-period and you get whatever cushion and headroom are left, not the stated terms.
• It trades lightly next to the biggest buffer ETFs, which can mean wider spreads; limit orders are the standard approach.

• 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 GNOV profile⁠

Full PSMR profile⁠