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Beacon

BUFRFT Vest Laddered Buffer ETF

Grow my money5y track recordRanked #940 of 2,960 in this goal

Seeks to provide investors with capital appreciation.

By First Trust · Launched 2020

Annual Cost

0.95%

#4,684 of 5,562 · expensive

Fund Size

$9.6B

#280 of 5,562 · large

Return (1Y)Goal

+17.5%

Track Record

5 years

#2,167 of 5,562 · seasoned

Performance

Total-return NAV · USD
Growth of $10,000
$11,761+17.6%

Total-return NAV, USD. Net of fund fees, before tax.

Classification

How Beacon categorizes this fund

Asset class

Alternative

Region

North america

Strategy

Structured outcome

Index tracked

S&P 500 Index

What it actually holds

By weight

Concentration

Top 10 holdings = 83.3% of fundconcentrated

FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - July
8.3%
FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - December
8.3%
FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - October
8.3%
FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - August
8.3%
FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - September
8.3%
FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - March
8.3%
FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - November
8.3%
FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - January
8.3%
FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - May
8.3%
FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - June
8.3%

Asset allocation

Stocks
99.0%
Cash
1.0%

Risk profile

Last 12 months · Sharpe & Sortino need 3+ years
Volatility (1Y)
6.6%Low

Year-on-year price swings

Max drawdown
-13.7%Mild

Worst peak-to-trough loss

Sharpe (3Y)
1.11Strong risk-adjusted returns
Sortino (3Y)
1.61Good downside protection

Where to buy

Listing

Exchange
Cboe BZX

Full fund details

Objective
Seeks to provide investors with capital appreciation.
Strategy
Invests primarily in a laddered portfolio of twelve FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETFs for large-cap equity exposure. Aims to limit downside risk while allowing for upside potential linked to SPY.
Inception date
August 10, 2020
Fund family
First Trust

Our take

Structural notes on how this fund behaves. Read our guide on the 6 warning signs.

Buffer
Warning

Buffer ETF — downside protection at a cost

Defined-outcome funds cap upside (typically 8–20%) in exchange for partial downside protection (9–30%), priced via options. Fees are materially higher than the underlying index (often 0.70%+ vs 0.03–0.10%). For most pre-retirees, a simple stock/bond mix achieves similar downside behaviour at a fraction of the cost.

Source: Morningstar, 'Defined-Outcome ETFs: Useful or Uneconomic?' (2023)

Why we flagged this: strategy=structured_outcome + structured_outcome_strategy

Educational analysis of structural product characteristics. Not investment advice. Always read the fund prospectus and consult a qualified advisor before investing. More

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Data updated on 2026-06-19