PSMJ vs PSTP

PSMJBPacer Swan SOS Moderate (July) ETF

PSTPFInnovator Power Buffer Step-Up Strategy ETF

In short

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.

PSTP Most buffer ETFs hand you one reset date a year and wish you luck. PSTP is checked monthly and can step its protection up to a higher level after a rally, with one-year FLEX options doing the work behind a single ticker.

Stated mandate

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.

PSTP PSTP seeks risk-managed exposure to SPY through an opportunistically managed, monthly evaluated buffer strategy. It uses one-year FLEX options and may also invest directly in SPY or its components, subject to an upside limit and downside-loss protection.

Why people hold it

• 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

• PSTP The step-up idea: the buffer is evaluated monthly rather than parked on one annual reset date, so a rally can lift the level the protection is measured from.innovatoretfs.com
• One ticker, no calendar homework. The reset timing is managed inside the fund instead of you laddering a shelf of dated January-through-December series.innovatoretfs.com
• The reference is SPY itself, and the fund can hold SPY or its components directly alongside the one-year FLEX options rather than tracking a synthetic proxy.innovatoretfs.com

Worth knowing

• 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

• PSTP Active management costs: 0.89% a year, above the 0.79% median for S&P 500 buffer funds and above Innovator's own dated Power Buffer series such as PMAY.
• The cushion is bought with your upside: gains are capped, and anyone buying mid-period inherits whatever cap and remaining buffer exist that day, not the headline terms.innovatoretfs.com
• Trading is light next to the category's household names, so spreads can widen, and the options package has not been throwing off distributions.

Full PSMJ profile⁠

Full PSTP profile⁠