PSMJ vs SPBU

PSMJBPacer Swan SOS Moderate (July) ETF

SPBUDAllianzIM Buffer15 Uncapped Allocation 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.

SPBU Most buffer ETFs cap your upside. SPBU skips the ceiling: its twelve underlying funds take a stated spread off the S&P 500 ETF's return instead, while buffering the first 15% of losses. Laddered monthly, so no single start date defines your year.

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.

SPBU The Fund seeks to achieve its objective through a laddered portfolio of twelve AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer15 Uncapped ETFs. The underlying strategy seeks to track SPY market-price returns over specified one-year periods while protecting against the first 15% of SPY losses, subject to a stated spread.

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

• SPBU No upside cap. The underlying Buffer15 Uncapped funds subtract a stated spread from the S&P 500 ETF's one-year return rather than stopping gains at a ceiling.
• Twelve overlapping one-year outcome periods in one ticket, so the portfolio staggers its resets instead of hanging on a single entry date.
• The 15% buffer is written into the design: the underlying strategy absorbs the first 15% of S&P 500 ETF losses over each one-year period.
• At 0.79%, the fee sits right at the median for its buffered S&P 500 peer group, so the uncapped twist costs no premium over standard capped 15% buffers.

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

• SPBU The spread is what you pay for no cap. Upside arrives as the index return minus that stated spread, so the fund trails plain S&P 500 exposure in strong years.
• Cost isn't the edge here. Another laddered buffer fund in the same group, BUFF, charges 0.10% at the fund level.
• Launched in 2025 and thinly traded, so the track record is short and the gap between bid and ask can matter as much as the expense ratio.

Full PSMJ profile⁠

Full SPBU profile⁠