I bleed maroon said:Heineken-Ashi said:I bleed maroon said:
Dabbling in a "buffer ETF" for the first time. Bought a hundred shares just to watch how it behaves. This is NOT a recommendation to buy.
PNOV: S&P fund that protects up to the first 15% downside, in return for a capped max return of 13-14%. Tracking period is through next November. No dividends, and no options available. As I understand it, in Nov 2026, you can leave it in the fund and "renew" for another year period. You can trade it any time in the interim for what the market says it's worth. Expense ratio is high-ish at 0.79%, and its' track record is mostly in a bullish market environment.
Looking at it as a cash alternative, retaining exposure to the market. May be a good alternative for those nearing retirement or already retired. Open to any and all critiques ...
It's pretty much an inverse SPY instrument. But one that caps your potential. So in periods of bull, your money goes down while the market goes up. And during bears, your money goes up while the market goes down, yet returns less than a standard inverse ETF would.
So not only do you need to generally time it right, but you need to be ok knowing you left tons on the table had you used the same timing with an inverse ETF.
With the ability to use stops on inverse ETF's, I cant see the use case for this outside of someone who doesnt check the market often and wants something they can set and forget and hope it works out for them
Thanks! Yep - I see it much the same way. It's not for me, BUT, for someone with a large amount of cash in their IRA who wants market exposure with reduced risk, it's pretty accessible. It's a packaged solution, but if they don't check their account much more than quarterly, it may still be better (and I disagree that it leaves "tons" on the table - mainly higher ETF expenses and capped returns in return for the "set and forget" capability). I have relatives in this situation - I ain't gonna manage their money on a daily basis).
Only problem is, if you don't time it right, the jump in value could do nothing more than return what lost from decay.