PTLC vs ROMO

PTLCAPacer Trendpilot US Large Cap ETF

ROMODStrategy Shares Newfound/ReSolve Robust Momentum ETF

In short

PTLC Most index funds ride out every drawdown. PTLC tracks an index with an exit ramp: a rules-based trend signal that shifts its large-cap exposure toward 3-month Treasury bills and back, with no manager judgment in the loop.

ROMO Most trend funds flip one switch on one moving average. ROMO's index lets a crowd of simple momentum and trend models vote, then shifts weekly in small steps, rotating among US, developed and emerging market equity ETFs or Treasuries as the votes change.

Stated mandate

PTLC The Fund seeks to track the total return performance, before fees and expenses, of the Pacer Trendpilot US Large Cap Index. That index uses a rules-based trend-following approach that alternates exposure between equities and 3-Month US Treasury bills.

ROMO The Fund seeks pre-fee, pre-expense returns corresponding to the Newfound/ReSolve Robust Equity Momentum Index. It uses passive indexing to track that index.

Why people hold it

• PTLC The switch is mechanical. A rules-based trend signal alternates exposure between US large-cap equities and 3-month Treasury bills, so nobody is making a gut call mid-panic.paceretfs.com
• Underneath the signal sits plain large-cap America: roughly 500 stocks benchmarked to the S&P 500, not a niche factor slice.paceretfs.com
• Trading since 2015 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund, so the rules have run through live markets, not just backtests.
• Among the index-tracking funds we cover, it lands in the upper half, and it follows its own index closely.

• ROMO No single moving average calls the shot: many simple momentum and trend models vote, and each holding's weight tracks its share of the votes.solactive.comthinknewfound.com
• Signals come from four momentum calculations run across lookbacks from roughly one month to 18 months, so one parameter choice does not drive the portfolio.thinknewfound.com
• Signals update weekly but are only partly implemented, so the equity dial turns in increments instead of flipping all in or all out.thinknewfound.comsolactive.com
• The map is global: US, developed international and emerging market equity ETFs, with US Treasury ETFs when equity trends go negative. Live since 2019.solactive.com

Worth knowing

• PTLC 0.60% a year is real money next to vanilla large-cap trackers like SCHK (0.03%) or VOOV (0.07%). The trend rules are what the extra buys.
• Trend signals read past prices. Moves into T-bills, or back into stocks, arrive after a market shift is already underway rather than ahead of it.
• Distributions land once or twice a year, so it isn't structured as a steady income drip.

• ROMO Costs 0.92% net of a waiver through August 31, 2027 (1.29% gross), above the category median across 20 funds. Trend peers WAMA (0.32%) and ONOF (0.39%) charge less.
• Gradual moves cut both ways: the index can stay partly invested through a selloff and partly defensive into a rebound.thinknewfound.comsolactive.com
• A small fund that trades lightly, so spreads and premium or discount gaps can run wider than at the category's heavyweights. It also owns ETFs, layering fund costs.sec.gov

Full PTLC profile⁠

Full ROMO profile⁠