PSCQ vs PSCW

PSCQBPacer Swan SOS Conservative (October) ETF

PSCWCPacer Swan SOS Conservative (April) ETF

In short

PSCQ A deep buffer with a deductible: you take the first 5% of an S&P 500 slide, then the next 25 points get cushioned, up to a cap reset each October. At 0.49% a year, it is a low-cost way to run that trade.

PSCW A 25% cushion against S&P 500 losses for 0.49%, well under the going rate in the deep-buffer aisle. Options do the work: index-like upside to a yearly cap, the first 25% of a decline absorbed, and the whole contract reset every April.

Stated mandate

PSCQ The Fund seeks to match the returns of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust before fees and expenses up to a predetermined cap while providing a downside buffer over approximately one year.

PSCW The Fund seeks to match the returns of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, before fees and expenses, up to a predetermined upside cap while providing a downside risk-mitigation buffer over an approximate one-year period.

Why people hold it

• PSCQ 0.49% a year, at the cheap end of the SPY deep-buffer group. In a capped strategy, fees come straight out of the upside you are allowed to keep.
• Real depth of cushion: underlying losses from 5% down to 30% are absorbed by the options package, 25 percentage points of protection across a full one-year outcome period.paceretfs.com
• October start date. Pacer runs the same conservative recipe in January, April and July windows, so you choose which twelve months (and which cap) you live with.
• Plain plumbing: FLEX options on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, no stock picking, no leverage. It sits in the upper half of its deep-buffer peer group.paceretfs.com

• PSCW Costs 0.49% while the typical deep-buffer peer sits nearer 0.85% (DMAR is 0.85%, UFEB 0.79%). When your upside is capped, the fee you skip is upside you keep.
• Deep by design: the buffer aims to absorb the first 25% of the referenced S&P 500 ETF's decline, before fees, over an approximate one-year period starting each April 1.paceretfs.com
• One reference asset, one buffer, one cap, built with FLEX options. No factor tilt, no stock picking, nothing to second-guess about what is inside.paceretfs.com
• Sibling funds (PSCX, PSCQ, PSCJ) run the same conservative strategy on different reset months, so an April start date is a choice rather than the only option.paceretfs.com

Worth knowing

• PSCQ The cap is the price of the cushion. Upside stops at a level set when the October period begins, so a roaring S&P year leaves money on the table.
• The 5% to 30% math is built for holders of the full period. Buy mid-period and your effective buffer and cap depend on the price you pay.paceretfs.com
• A small fund that trades thinly, so spreads can run wider than on big index ETFs. It holds options, not dividend payers, so income is not part of the design.

• PSCW Thinly traded next to the giants of the buffer world, so spreads can be wide and entry and exit deserve attention.
• The cap is reset each April from whatever options pricing allows, and it is measured before fees. Buying mid-period means a different buffer and cap than the headline terms.paceretfs.com
• Not an income vehicle: the structure has not paid a distribution over the past year, so results show up in the share price.

Full PSCQ profile⁠

Full PSCW profile⁠