PTIN vs PTMC

PTINBPacer Trendpilot International ETF

PTMCAPacer Trendpilot US Mid Cap ETF

In short

PTIN Pacer's Trendpilot rulebook, pointed overseas: a mechanical dial that shifts roughly 500 developed-market large caps toward 3-month T-bills when the 200-day trend rolls over. No manager discretion, no guesswork.

PTMC A mid-cap index fund with a seatbelt built in. PTMC tracks a rules-based trend index that shifts the portfolio between roughly 400 US mid-cap stocks and defensive positioning, with no manager judgment in the loop. Running since 2015.

Stated mandate

PTIN The fund seeks to track the total return of the Pacer Trendpilot International Index before fees and expenses. Its rules-based trend-following process alternates exposure between international equities and 3-Month U.S. T-Bills using three indicators.

PTMC The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return of the Pacer Trendpilot US Mid Cap Index.

Why people hold it

• PTIN Three indicators, no judgment calls: fully invested above the 200-day average, half in T-bills after five closes below it, all T-bills once that average itself turns down.paceretfs.com
• The signal reads the developed ex-US market in local currency while the fund holds the unhedged dollar version, so currency swings alone don't flip the switch.paceretfs.com
• Broad base under the hood: roughly 500 large caps across developed markets outside the US, the international member of Pacer's long-running Trendpilot family.paceretfs.com
• Costs 0.65%, with no fee waiver propping that up, which sits near the median for trend-following index wrappers.

• PTMC The trend rules do the deciding, not a portfolio manager's gut: the index itself dictates when to hold mid-cap equities and when to shift defensive.paceretfs.com
• Under the overlay sits a plain, broad basket of roughly 400 US mid caps, not a handful of concentrated picks.
• Live since 2015, so the signal has run through real market drawdowns and recoveries rather than a backtest.

Worth knowing

• PTIN Signals act on a lag (a switch takes effect a business day or two after it triggers), so choppy markets can mean stepping out after a drop and back in after a bounce.paceretfs.com
• Cheaper international trend-followers exist: WisdomTree's WIMA charges 0.42% against this fund's 0.65%.
• It trades lightly next to mainstream international index funds, so bid-ask spreads can run wider, and payouts come only once or twice a year.

• PTMC The 0.60% fee buys the rules, not more stocks. Plain index wrappers in the same peer group, like VXF at 0.05%, simply hold the market and skip the overlay.
• Trend systems move on sustained direction, so a sharp drop and fast snapback can whipsaw the signal in both directions.paceretfs.com
• It trades lightly next to vanilla mid-cap index funds, which tends to mean wider bid-ask spreads at the moment of the trade.

Full PTIN profile⁠

Full PTMC profile⁠