PTMC vs PTNQ

PTMCAPacer Trendpilot US Mid Cap ETF

PTNQBPacer Trendpilot 100 ETF

In short

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.

PTNQ The Nasdaq-100 with an automatic ejector seat: PTNQ holds the index while it sits above its 200-day average, then shifts half or all of the money into 3-month T-bills when the trend breaks. Rules decide, not a manager's gut.

Stated mandate

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

PTNQ The fund seeks to track the total return of the Pacer NASDAQ-100 Trendpilot Index before fees and expenses. Its rules-based trend-following strategy changes exposure among the NASDAQ-100 Index and 3-Month U.S. Treasury bills using three indicators.

Why people hold it

• 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.

• PTNQ Three states, all rules-based: all Nasdaq-100, 50/50 with 3-month T-bills, or all T-bills. Each switch needs five straight closes on the wrong side of the 200-day average.paceretfs.compaceretfs.com 2
• No discretion, no gut calls. Pacer publishes the Trendpilot rules and the current position for the series, so you can see what moves the exposure and where it sits.paceretfs.compaceretfs.com 2
• Live since 2015, so the rulebook has run through real market stress rather than a backtest, and it has grown into a multi-billion-dollar fund along the way.
• At 0.65%, the fee sits right at the median for active US equity funds, so the signal machinery costs no premium over the typical active peer.

Worth knowing

• 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.

• PTNQ That 0.65% is still several times what plain core index funds charge (DFAU 0.12%, AVLC 0.15%). The rulebook is the thing you are paying for.
• The 200-day signal lags by design. A sharp V-shaped rebound can catch it in T-bills, and it cannot go from all-T-bills back to 50/50 without first hitting the equity trigger.paceretfs.compaceretfs.com 2
• It trades lighter than the largest Nasdaq-100 trackers, so spreads can run wider; limit orders are the usual fix. Payouts arrive annually or semiannually, not quarterly.

Full PTMC profile⁠

Full PTNQ profile⁠