PFEB vs PSMR

PFEBCInnovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF

PSMRBPacer Swan SOS Moderate (April) 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.

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

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.

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

• 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.

• 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

• 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.

• 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 PFEB profile⁠

Full PSMR profile⁠