PAUG vs PSMR

PAUGCInnovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - August

PSMRBPacer Swan SOS Moderate (April) ETF

In short

PAUG A shock absorber with a calendar. PAUG soaks up the first 15% of losses on an S&P 500 ETF over each roughly one-year stretch, trades away some upside via a cap, then resets every August 1.

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

PAUG PAUG seeks to track SPY up to a predetermined upside cap while protecting the first 15% of losses over an approximately annual outcome period, resetting at the end of each 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

• PAUG The first 15 percentage points of reference-fund losses over the outcome period are absorbed before you feel anything. That buffer is written into the fund's documents, not left to a manager's judgment.innovatoretfs.com
• What's being shaped is plain vanilla US large cap: the reference asset is SPY, the S&P 500 tracker, not a bespoke smart-beta index built for the brochure.
• Live since August 2019, so the annual reset has run through several very different markets. It also has eleven monthly siblings, so the choice is a start date, not a strategy.
• Among the stronger implementations in a crowded buffer field, where a lot of look-alike funds charge similar money for similar mechanics.

• 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

• PAUG Upside is capped, and the cap is set fresh each period. Buy mid-period and you inherit whatever cap and buffer remain, which can look nothing like the headline terms.
• 0.79% a year is the price of the options engineering. It sits right at the median for buffer funds and well above plain index exposure.
• One of the quieter tickers in a busy category, so limit orders and a look at the spread matter more here than with a mega-fund.

• 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 PAUG profile⁠

Full PSMR profile⁠