PSFO vs SEPW

PSFOBPacer Swan SOS Flex (October) ETF

SEPWCAllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer20 Sep ETF

In short

PSFO Pacer's October-dated buffer fund absorbs the first 20% of an S&P 500 drop over each 12-month period, in exchange for a ceiling on the upside. At 0.49%, it charges less than the typical fund in its buffer peer group.

SEPW September's door into AllianzIM's deep-buffer series: SEPW absorbs the first 20% of a year's decline in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust's share price, and trades away upside above a cap that resets every September 1.

Stated mandate

PSFO The fund seeks to match the pre-fee and pre-expense returns of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.

SEPW The fund seeks to track the share-price return of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust through the current outcome period, subject to an upside cap, while protecting the first 20% of underlying losses. Fees reduce the stated cap and buffer.

Why people hold it

• PSFO 0.49% a year, below the median fee in its S&P 500 buffer cohort and well under peers like PMAY (0.79%) and BUFZ (0.95%).
• Built to absorb the first 20% of a decline in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) over each outcome period before the fund itself starts taking losses.
• A 1940 Act ETF holding its own option package, not a bank-issued note, so no third-party credit sits between you and the payoff. Running since 2021.
• Rates in the upper tier of a two-dozen-fund group of S&P 500 buffer strategies, largely on price.

• SEPW Deep end of the buffer world: the first 20% of the reference ETF's price decline over a full outcome period is absorbed. Fees reduce the stated buffer and cap.
• A 1940 Act ETF, not a bank-issued note, so no single issuer's balance sheet sits between the strategy and the payoff.
• One month in a series: March and May siblings run the same 20% buffer on the same reference, so the start date isn't dictated by a single point on the calendar.

Worth knowing

• PSFO The price of the cushion: gains stop at a cap fixed at the start of each period, and the fund hasn't been an income payer.
• Buffer and cap are engineered for the full October 1 to September 30 stretch. Buy mid-period and your real cushion and ceiling differ from the headline terms.
• Small asset base and light trading, which usually means wider spreads and more attention needed on how orders get entered.

• SEPW Cost sits at the top of the deep-buffer group: 0.74%, against 0.50% at PGIM's laddered PBFR and 0.49% at the Pacer Swan flex funds (PSFJ, PSFM).
• The reference is a share price, so S&P 500 dividends don't count toward the capped return, and income isn't part of the design.
• Bought mid-period, the effective buffer and cap differ from the headline terms, which apply across a complete outcome period.

Full PSFO profile⁠

Full SEPW profile⁠