PAPR vs PSMJ

PAPRCInnovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF

PSMJBPacer Swan SOS Moderate (July) ETF

In short

PAPR Innovator's April door. PAPR takes the first 15% of losses on the S&P 500 fund it references and caps your upside in exchange. The buffer resets every April 1, so the deal is rewritten once a year. Running since 2019.

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

PAPR The Fund uses a defined-outcome strategy tied to SPY over the April 1, 2026–March 31, 2027 Outcome Period, seeking to limit upside at a cap while protecting the first 15% of underlying losses before fees and expenses.

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

• PAPR Buffers the first 15% of the reference fund's losses over each April-to-March outcome period, before fees and expenses. Downside cushion without leaving equities.innovatoretfs.com
• One of twelve monthly Power Buffer siblings, so you can enter in April or ladder across start months instead of hanging everything on one reset date.
• Live since April 2019, it has reset through real drawdowns rather than backtests, and it grades out in the upper tier of a crowded buffer peer group.

• 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

• PAPR The cap is what pays for the buffer. Upside for each period is limited, and the 15% cushion is measured before the 0.79% fee, so a hot market year leaves gains on the table.
• Buy mid-period and you inherit whatever cap and remaining buffer are left, not the headline terms. The full stated deal belongs to holders from the April 1 start.
• At 0.79% it is priced like its Power Buffer siblings, while the laddered BUFF spreads the same style of outcomes across all twelve months for 0.10%.

• 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 PAPR profile⁠

Full PSMJ profile⁠