MKAM vs PTBD

MKAMBMKAM ETF

PTBDAPacer Trendpilot US Bond ETF

In short

MKAM A dimmer switch on the S&P 500. A trend-and-valuation model can dial US stock exposure from 100% down to zero, parking the rest in Treasuries and cash. Active management for 0.55%, no waiver.

PTBD Trend following, pointed at bonds instead of stocks. A published rulebook shifts PTBD between high yield corporates and intermediate Treasuries as their relative strength changes, dialing credit risk up or down by formula rather than by opinion.

Stated mandate

MKAM The Fund seeks to capture most equity-market returns while taking less volatility and downside risk than other equity investments.

PTBD The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return of the Pacer Trendpilot US Bond Index through a rules-based strategy that alternates between high-yield corporate bonds and U.S. Treasury bonds.

Why people hold it

• MKAM The mechanism is the product: when the model reads a falling trend or high valuations, equity exposure can fall toward zero, with the rest in Treasuries and money-market funds.sec.gov
• Two inputs, named in the prospectus: price trend and valuation. Rising trend plus reasonable valuations means more stocks; mixed signals mean a split portfolio.sec.gov
• At 0.55% with no waiver propping it up, it prices below the typical tactical allocation fund and under peers like PTBD (0.60%) and RISN (0.72%).
• Pays quarterly, and sits in the upper half of a crowded tactical allocation field.

• PTBD The rulebook is public and mechanical: high yield measured against Treasuries, compared to its 100-day average, with five straight closes needed to confirm. No manager hunch involved.paceretfs.com
• 0.60% a year, comfortably below the median for tactical multi-asset funds. Cheap for a strategy that does the reallocating for you.
• Holds roughly 1,000 bonds in whichever sleeve the signal points to, so no single issuer carries much weight. Income is distributed monthly.
• Trading since 2019, long enough to have run the rules through a rate shock and a credit wobble, and it sits in the upper tier of the tactical funds we cover.

Worth knowing

• MKAM Small and thinly traded, so spreads and order size matter more here than the fee. Little funds also carry more closure risk than big ones.
• Trend models typically exit after a decline is underway and return after a rebound is underway. Whipsaw is the built-in cost of the design.sec.gov
• Non-diversified, with exposure often expressed through a handful of positions including other ETFs and money-market funds. You own a proprietary model, not an index.sec.govsec.gov 2

• PTBD Trend rules react, they don't anticipate. A sharp reversal can flip the signal after the move has happened, and the confirmation window means the switch lands days later.paceretfs.com
• In its risk-on position the portfolio is high yield corporate debt, full stop. That is credit risk, a different animal from Treasury rate risk.paceretfs.com
• Not one of the heavily traded names in its category, so the spread and a limit order matter more here than with a mega-fund.

Full MKAM profile⁠

Full PTBD profile⁠