PTMC vs TRND

PTMCAPacer Trendpilot US Mid Cap ETF

TRNDCPacer Trendpilot Fund of Funds 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.

TRND The whole Trendpilot family in one ticker: instead of picking which sleeve goes on trend autopilot, TRND holds Pacer's own trend-following ETFs across US large cap, mid cap, international and bonds.

Stated mandate

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

TRND The Fund seeks to track the total return performance, before fees and expenses, of the Pacer Trendpilot Fund of Funds Index.

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.

• TRND Each underlying sleeve runs its own rule: 100% to its benchmark, 50/50 with 3-month T-bills, or all T-bills. The de-risking switch isn't one all-or-nothing call on the S&P 500.paceretfs.compaceretfs.com 2
• Rules, not hunches. Positions shift on 200-day moving average triggers confirmed over five business days, with no manager discretion over when to step aside.paceretfs.compaceretfs.com 2
• A fund of funds rebuilt at each quarterly rebalance from Pacer's own Trendpilot ETFs, so the trend call is spread across several markets instead of one.sec.gov
• Live since 2019, tracking a published index methodology rather than a black box.paceretfs.com

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.

• TRND Stacking funds costs more: 0.77%, no waiver, above the category median. Owning a single sleeve directly runs less (PTLC and PTMC are 0.60% each).
• Signals confirm before they act, so a sharp dip and fast rebound can see sleeves move to T-bills late and return to the market late.paceretfs.compaceretfs.com 2
• Thinly traded for its category, so bid-ask spreads are a bigger slice of the cost of getting in and out than with the bigger Trendpilot sleeves.

Full PTMC profile⁠

Full TRND profile⁠