PFEB vs PSMJ

PFEBCInnovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF

PSMJBPacer Swan SOS Moderate (July) ETF

In short

PFEB February is the whole point. PFEB restarts each year with a fresh 15% cushion against SPY losses, in exchange for a ceiling on the upside that resets at the same time. Same recipe as its sibling months, different calendar.

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

PFEB The Fund seeks to follow SPY’s return up to a predetermined cap and protect investors from the first 15% of losses during the outcome period.

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

• PFEB The contract is simple: absorb the first 15% of SPY's decline over the outcome period, then follow SPY's gains up to a predetermined cap.innovatoretfs.com
• The reference asset is SPY itself, not a bespoke in-house index. You are hedging the same S&P 500 exposure millions of people already hold.innovatoretfs.com
• At 0.79%, the fee sits right at the middle of its buffer-fund cohort. The options machinery costs what it costs across this group.
• Innovator has run the February lane since 2020, and the fund stands in the upper half of a crowded field of 15% buffer strategies.

• 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

• PFEB Buffer and cap are defined for a full outcome period. Enter mid-period and you inherit whatever cushion and upside are left, not the headline 15%.innovatoretfs.com
• The cap cuts both ways. In a roaring year for the S&P 500, participation stops where the cap stops.innovatoretfs.com
• It trades less actively than the largest buffer ETFs, which can show up as wider bid-ask spreads. Also a price-return vehicle: no distribution stream.

• 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 PFEB profile⁠

Full PSMJ profile⁠