At a glance
PSCJ charges 0.6% a year. It has $41.3M in assets. Over the past year it returned +8.8% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%); over three years it returned +15.4% a year. At its worst it fell 11.7% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 8 months after the low.
The short version
Pacer Swan SOS Conservative (July) ETF (PSCJ) is an actively managed buffered ETF from Pacer Advisors. It holds options on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), not stocks. Over each one-year period starting July 1, it aims to absorb SPY losses between 5% and 30% and gives up gains above a preset cap in return. It has paid no distributions and charges 0.60% a year.
Price history
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PSCJ +8.8% over the year to Oct 27, 2026, total return with distributions reinvested.
How it has behaved
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | Since start | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSCJ official prospectus, to Dec 31, 2025 | — | +12.56% | — | — | — | +8.91% |
| PSCJ price data to Oct 27, 2026 | +7.8% | +8.8% | +15.4% | +9.2% | — | +8.9% |
- Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, PSCJ returned +8.8%.
- Its 5-year annualized return was +9.2%.
- Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-7.5%); its best was 2023 (+18.5%).
- The deepest fall in its price history was 11.9% (Feb 18, 2025 to Apr 8, 2025), recovered by Jun 6, 2025.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data | Prospectus (official) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +7.8% | — |
| 2025 | +12.8% | +12.56% |
| 2024 | +14.7% | +14.86% |
| 2023 | +18.5% | +18.75% |
| 2022 | -7.5% | -7.35% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Before this security existed |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 11.7% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 11.7%, back to its old high 7.7 months after the low |
What's inside
As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 0 securities; the ten largest made up 0% of assets.
| Holding | Weight |
|---|
By country
By asset type
What changed recently
- Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $938K (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
- Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +1.27%, +0.45%, +0.31%.
How it works
PSCJ does not own the stocks in the S&P 500. The actively managed fund puts substantially all of its assets in FLEX Options on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY). FLEX Options are exchange-listed options whose strike prices and expiration dates can be customized. As of July 31, 2026, four option positions made up 98.77% of assets, and cash made up 1.25%. A call option with a very low strike price, about 97.7% of assets, moves largely in step with SPY. A bought put and a sold put create the buffer, and a sold call sets the cap. The options follow SPY's share price only, so SPY's dividends are left out.
For the period from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, the cap was 12.23% before fees (11.62% after). If SPY falls by up to 5%, the fund takes that loss. If SPY falls by 5% to 30%, the fund aims to lose only 5%. Beyond 30%, losses pick up again: a 40% SPY drop is designed to mean a 15% fund loss, before fees.
Each July 1, the fund resets with new options and a new cap based on market conditions at that time. These outcomes apply only to shares held for the whole period. Investors who join partway through may find the cap closer than expected, or the buffer partly or fully used up. Pacer posts the fund's daily position relative to the cap and buffer on its website.
What it really costs
- PSCJ charges 0.6% a year.
- Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $61 in the first year and $750 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).
| Cost of $10,000 (SEC example) | 1 yr | 3 yrs | 5 yrs | 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSCJ | $61 | $192 | $335 | $750 |
Structure and tax notes
- Organized as a unit investment trust: it cannot lend out its securities or reinvest dividends between payouts, which can create a small drag versus similar open-end ETFs.
In a retirement portfolio
Its options buffer is designed to absorb part of a large S&P 500 decline in each July-to-June period, in exchange for capped gains.
PSCJ's record covers one major sell-off. In the 2022 bear market it fell 11.7% between January 3 and October 12, 2022, and it had recovered by June 2, 2023, about 7.7 months later. Its worst calendar year was 2022, at -7.35%. Its deepest drop, -11.9%, ran from February 18 to April 8, 2025, and it recovered in about 1.9 months. The fund launched in June 2021, so it has no 2008 or 2020 record. Smaller drops mean less damage for someone who must raise cash in a bad year. But the buffer works as designed only for shares held across a full period. The fund has paid no distributions, so any income would have to come from cashing out shares. It costs 0.60% a year, or $61 in the first year on $10,000 in the SEC's standard example. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.
Who it may suit — and who should look elsewhere
May suit
- Investors willing to give up S&P 500 gains above a yearly cap for a buffer against SPY losses between 5% and 30%.
- People who can invest near July 1 and hold through June 30, the window the fund's buffer and cap are built around.
- Those seeking milder swings: as of October 27, 2026, one-year volatility was 5.5% and beta was 0.4.
Look elsewhere if
- Anyone needing regular income: PSCJ has paid no distributions, and its options track SPY's share price without dividends.
- Investors seeking full stock-market upside. The cap for July 2025 to June 2026 was 12.23% before fees, which limits gains in strong rallies.
- Those wanting a large, heavily traded fund: net assets were about $41.3 million as of July 31, 2026, and about $0.9 million flowed out over three months.
Close alternatives
Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.
No close alternatives found.
Questions investors ask
Does PSCJ pay dividends?
No. The fund has no recorded distributions. It holds options on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), not the stocks themselves, and its targeted outcomes follow SPY's share price return. That means the dividends SPY pays are not passed on to PSCJ holders. Retirees who want regular cash from this fund would have to cash out shares, and the timing of that within the July-to-June period can affect results.
What is the PSCJ cap and buffer?
For the period from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, PSCJ aimed to buffer SPY losses between 5% and 30%, with an upside cap of 12.23% before fees and 11.62% after. The fund resets every July 1 with new options, and the new cap depends on market conditions at the reset. Pacer publishes the fund's daily position relative to its cap and buffer on its website.
What's the difference between PSCJ and SPY?
SPY holds the S&P 500 stocks, so holders get their full gains and losses plus dividends. PSCJ holds FLEX options on SPY. Over each July-to-June period, it aims to absorb SPY losses between 5% and 30% and caps gains, and it pays no distributions. That trade-off costs 0.60% a year. PSCJ's one-year volatility was 5.5% and its beta was 0.4 as of October 27, 2026, so it has moved much less than the market.
Can you lose money in PSCJ?
Yes. The fund takes the first 5% of SPY losses in each period. If SPY falls more than 30%, losses resume. Investors who join partway through may get little or no buffer, and the prospectus warns that a shareholder could lose their entire investment. Options also carry counterparty, liquidity and valuation risks. PSCJ's worst quarter was -8.29%, in the quarter ended June 30, 2022, and it lost 7.35% in calendar 2022.
How has PSCJ performed since launch?
According to its prospectus, PSCJ returned -7.35% in 2022, 18.75% in 2023, 14.86% in 2024 and 12.56% in 2025. Its average annual return since its June 2021 launch was 8.91% as of December 31, 2025. Based on price, it gained 8.8% over the year to October 27, 2026, and 7.8% in 2026 through that date. Because of the cap, gains have been limited in strong rally years.