MARW vs PSFJ

MARWCAllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer20 Mar ETF

PSFJBPacer Swan SOS Flex (July) ETF

In short

MARW March's rung in AllianzIM's monthly buffer ladder: FLEX options tracking SPY's share price for a year, with the first 20% of losses absorbed and upside capped, then reset every March. Hedging runs on Allianz Life's own platform.

PSFJ A 20% cushion against the S&P 500's first losses, paid for with a ceiling on the upside, reset every July 1. Pacer runs the trade for less than most of the deep-buffer crowd charges.

Stated mandate

MARW The Fund seeks to match the share-price return of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust through FLEX Options over a one-year Outcome Period, with upside limited by a Cap and the first 20% of underlying losses buffered.

PSFJ The Fund seeks to match, before fees and expenses, the returns of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust up to a predetermined cap while buffering the first 20% of downside losses over an approximate one-year period.

Why people hold it

• MARW The 20% buffer is among the deepest in defined-outcome land, and it is written into the fund's terms, not left to a manager's judgment.
• Hedging is handled in-house on the same proprietary platform Allianz Life uses to hedge its annuity book, rather than outsourced to a sub-adviser.allianzlife.com
• One rung in a full 12-month ladder: a same-structure AllianzIM fund opens a fresh outcome period every month, so entry and roll dates are a choice.allianzim.comallianzlife.com
• The FLEX options are exchange-listed and settled through the Options Clearing Corporation, so the payoff isn't riding on one bank's balance sheet.allianzim.com

• PSFJ Costs 0.49% a year against a 0.74% median for 20% S&P 500 buffer funds, and undercuts the 0.74% AllianzIM month-series funds (JUNW, AUGW, DECW) built on the same reference.
• Deep cushion by design: it aims to absorb the first 20% of a decline in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust over each roughly one-year period, before fees and expenses.paceretfs.com
• Live since 2021, with several annual reset cycles behind it and sibling funds (PSFM, PSFD) covering other start months. One of the stronger builds in a crowded 20% buffer field.

Worth knowing

• MARW At 0.74% it sits mid-pack for 20%-buffer funds, and Pacer's PSFJ and PSFM (0.49%) and PGIM's PBJA and PBJN (0.50%) deliver the same basic shape for less.
• Buffer and cap are engineered for a full March-to-February period; buy midstream and your own downside cushion and upside room differ from the stated terms.allianzim.com
• Trades lightly next to the category's biggest names, so the spread and a limit order matter more than usual.

• PSFJ The price of the cushion is a ceiling. Upside is capped at a level set when each July outcome period begins, so a roaring market leaves gains on the table.paceretfs.com
• Buffer and cap are designed to work over the full outcome period. Buy mid-period and the cushion remaining and the room left to run differ from the stated terms.paceretfs.com
• A smaller, thinly traded fund, so spreads can run wider than in the biggest names in the group. Income is not part of the design either.

Full MARW profile⁠

Full PSFJ profile⁠