PSMR vs SPBU

PSMRBPacer Swan SOS Moderate (April) ETF

SPBUDAllianzIM Buffer15 Uncapped Allocation 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.

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

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.

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

• 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.

• 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

• 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.

• 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 PSMR profile⁠

Full SPBU profile⁠