PGIM Laddered S&P 500 Buffer 20 ETF

PGIM Laddered S&P 500 Buffer 20 ETF (PBFR) is a fund of funds. It holds 12 PGIM S&P 500 Buffer 20 ETFs in roughly equal weights. Each one uses options on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) to absorb the first 20% of losses over a one-year period, and in exchange it caps gains. The 12 funds reset in different months, so no single start date drives results. PBFR's 0.50% expense ratio is the lowest of eight buffer funds compared, where the average is 0.86%.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, PBFR returned +8.7%, 8th of 8 among similar funds.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2025 (+10.4%); its best was 2025 (+10.4%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 8.5% (Feb 14, 2025 to Apr 8, 2025), recovered by May 16, 2025.

As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 12 securities; the ten largest made up 83.32% of assets.

• Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors added a net $66.1M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +1.44%, +0.18%, +0.36%.

PBFR does not pick stocks. Under normal conditions it puts substantially all of its assets into 12 PGIM S&P 500 Buffer 20 ETFs, one named for each month of the year, generally in equal weights. As of July 31, 2026, each made up about 8.3% of the fund, from the June series (PBJN) to the August series (PBAU). PGIM Investments advises the fund, and PGIM Quantitative Solutions subadvises it.

Each underlying ETF holds FLEX Options on SPY. FLEX Options are exchange-traded options whose terms, such as strike price and expiration date, can be customized. Over a roughly one-year Target Outcome Period, each underlying ETF aims to match SPY's price return up to a cap, while absorbing the first 20% of SPY losses before fees. Price return leaves out dividends. When a period ends, the options expire or are sold, and new ones are purchased with a new cap set by market conditions at the time.

Because the series are staggered, one underlying ETF resets about every 30 days. This spreads out the risk of entering a single buffer fund at a bad moment. The trade-off is that PBFR itself offers no stated buffer. It rarely holds an underlying ETF from the first day of its period, so it likely won't receive the full 20% buffer or the full cap. If SPY falls more than 20% in a period, losses beyond the buffer pass through.

• PBFR charges 0.5% a year, versus an average of 0.86% for the similar funds below (1st of 8, cheapest first).
• Of that, 0% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $51 in the first year and $628 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It keeps S&P 500 exposure but uses laddered option buffers to soften swings, with a one-year beta of 0.32 as of October 27, 2026. Beta measures how much a fund moves with the market, so 0.32 means it moved about a third as much.

PBFR could give a retirement portfolio US large-cap stock exposure with a smoother ride. It launched on June 11, 2024, so it has no record from the 2008, 2020 or 2022 downturns. Its deepest drop was 8.5%, from February 14 to April 8, 2025. It recovered by May 16, 2025, about 1.2 months later. Its only full calendar year, 2025, returned 10.4%. Volatility was 4.4% for the year to October 27, 2026. The calmer ride has a price. Gains are capped, so the fund may trail the S&P 500 in strong markets, and in a severe crash, losses beyond the buffers pass through. It pays almost no income: a 0.01% yield, paid once a year. Anyone drawing cash would have to cash out shares. Its expense ratio is 0.50%. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by other buffer (defined-outcome) funds, largest first.