PSMR vs PSTP

PSMRBPacer Swan SOS Moderate (April) ETF

PSTPFInnovator Power Buffer Step-Up Strategy ETF

In short

PSMR A 15-point cushion on SPY, reset every April, for 0.49% a year while the typical buffer fund charges more. Pacer and Swan's moderate tier trades away some upside (a cap set each period) for a floor you know going in.

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

PSMR The Fund seeks to match 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

• PSMR Charges 0.49% a year against a 0.79% median in its buffered-SPY cohort, and undercuts Pacer's own single-month siblings like PJUL and POCT at 0.79%.
• The contract is spelled out: a 15-point buffer against SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust losses over roughly a one-year period, with upside capped at a level set when the period begins.paceretfs.com
• Terms reset on April 1 each year, so the new buffer and cap arrive on a known calendar date instead of whenever you happened to buy in.paceretfs.com
• Running since 2021, so this April series has cycled through several complete outcome periods rather than being a fresh launch with a paper track record.

• 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

• PSMR Thinly traded next to the biggest names in buffer land, so spreads and order size are worth a look before you place a trade.
• The cap cuts both ways: big SPY years get trimmed, and the stated buffer and cap only line up in full for a holder who rides one April reset to the next.
• Not an income vehicle. It has not been paying a regular distribution, so whatever the strategy delivers shows up in the share price.

• 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 PSMR profile⁠

Full PSTP profile⁠