Pacer WealthShield ETF

Pacer WealthShield ETF (PWS) tracks the Pacer WealthShield Index, a rules-based trend-following strategy that moves between a handful of U.S. stock sectors, long-term U.S. Treasury bonds and short-term Treasury bills based on monthly market signals. Its draw is an automatic attempt to step aside from falling stock markets. The trade-offs are a 0.60% annual expense ratio, versus 0.20% for its closest match by holdings, and very heavy trading.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, PWS returned -1.9%.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +0.6%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 15.1% and regained its old high 4.1 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-12.1%); its best was 2020 (+22.1%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 24.9% (Nov 18, 2021 to May 25, 2023), recovered by Oct 21, 2025.

As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 337 securities; the ten largest made up 38.52% of assets, and 12.92% sat in cash and money-market holdings.

By sector

• Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $6.4M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: -1.09%, +3.72%, -2.23%.

PWS tracks the Pacer WealthShield Index, a trend-following index from Index Design Group, an affiliate of adviser Pacer Advisors. On the third-to-last business day of each month, the index compares the S&P U.S. High Yield Corporate Bond Index, which tracks riskier "junk" company debt, with the S&P U.S. Treasury Bond 7-10 Year Index. If that ratio is at or above its 5-month exponential moving average (a trend line weighted toward recent prices), the index holds stocks the next month. If not, it holds bonds.

In stock mode, the index picks the five top six-month performers, checked quarterly, from a list of S&P 500 sector indexes, a biotech index and the Dow Jones Internet Composite Index. Each gets 20%, for roughly 400 stocks when all five are held. Any pick below its 7-month moving average has its 20% moved to 3-month Treasury bills, which are short-term U.S. government debt. In bond mode, the index holds the S&P U.S. Treasury Bond 20+ Year Total Return Index, or Treasury bills if that index is below its 7-month average.

The fund generally owns the index's securities directly but may use other ETFs instead. All this switching means heavy trading. Portfolio turnover, a measure of how much of the portfolio is replaced in a year, was 664%. That adds trading costs and can create taxable capital gains.

• PWS charges 0.6% a year, versus an average of 0.2% for the similar funds below.
• 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).

Its rules can move it entirely out of stocks into long-term Treasuries or Treasury bills, so it may behave differently from a plain stock fund, though that switching has not always softened losses.

PWS's rules aim to sidestep falling stock markets, with mixed results. In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 15.1% but recovered by July 20. In the 2022 bear market it fell 12.5% and wasn't back to its January 2022 level until September 2024. Its deepest drop, 24.9% from November 2021 to May 2023, took until October 2025 to recover. Its worst calendar year was 2022, down 12.2%. It launched in 2017, so it has no 2008 record. For someone taking withdrawals, long recoveries can mean cashing out shares at depressed prices.

Income is modest. The trailing 12-month yield was 2.14% as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly. The fund charges 0.60% a year, versus 0.20% for its closest match by holdings. On $10,000, the SEC's standard example shows $750 in costs over 10 years. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan needs to cover the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.