PJAN vs PSMJ

PJANCInnovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF

PSMJBPacer Swan SOS Moderate (July) ETF

In short

PJAN The January edition of Innovator's 15% Power Buffer series: it absorbs the first 15% of an S&P 500 price drop over the year in exchange for a capped upside, then resets every January 1. One of the originals, 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

PJAN The fund uses a defined-outcome strategy tied to SPY, seeking to track its return up to a cap while protecting the first 15% of losses during the annual 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

• PJAN Launched January 2019, one of the first calendar-year buffer ETFs, and now among the larger funds in the buffer space with many reset cycles behind it.innovatoretfs.com
• The mechanic is simple: the first 15% of SPY's price decline over the outcome period is absorbed, upside runs to a cap set at the start of each January, then it all resets.sec.gov
• The 0.79% fee sits right at the median for buffer funds, and this is one of the stronger implementations in a crowded 15%-buffer peer group.
• Moderately traded with a full twelve-month sibling lineup behind it, so the January vintage is a deliberate pick rather than the only door in.

• 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

• PJAN The buffer and cap are designed for investors who hold from the start of the outcome period to its end. Buy mid-period and your effective cushion and remaining upside differ.sec.gov
• It follows SPY's price return only. The fund does not receive the underlying ETF's dividends, and it is not built as an income vehicle.sec.gov
• One start date, one calendar. Siblings like PAPR, PJUL and POCT run the same 15% buffer off other months, and BUFF ladders across the year.

• 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 PJAN profile⁠

Full PSMJ profile⁠