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DOCTFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - October

Stay safeGrow my money5y track recordRanked #95 of 340 in this goal

Seeks to provide returns with a deep buffer against losses of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY).

By First Trust · Launched 2020

Annual Cost

0.85%

#4,336 of 5,562 · expensive

Fund Size

$389M

#1,773 of 5,562 · large

Dividend YieldGoal

0.00%

Track Record

5 years

#2,216 of 5,562 · seasoned

Performance

Total-return NAV · USD
Growth of $10,000
$11,590+15.9%

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

Classification

How Beacon categorizes this fund

Asset class

Alternative

Strategy

Structured outcome

Index tracked

S&P 500 Index

What it actually holds

By weight

Concentration

Top 10 holdings = 104.1% of fundconcentrated

CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 10 C6.63
90.5%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 10 C6.63
6.9%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 10 P631.17
3.2%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 10 C6.63
2.3%
Dreyfus Government Cash Management
1.1%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 10 P631.17
0.2%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 10 P631.17
0.1%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 10 P465.07
-0.0%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 10 P465.07
-0.1%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 10 C742.32
-0.1%

Asset allocation

Stocks
99.3%
Cash
0.7%

Risk profile

Last 12 months · Sharpe & Sortino need 3+ years
Volatility (1Y)
6.0%Low

Year-on-year price swings

Max drawdown
-9.9%Mild

Worst peak-to-trough loss

Sharpe (3Y)
0.95Decent risk-adjusted returns
Sortino (3Y)
1.37Good downside protection

Where to buy

Listing

Exchange
Cboe BZX

Full fund details

Objective
Seeks to provide returns with a deep buffer against losses of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY).
Strategy
Invests primarily in FLEX Options referencing SPY to create a target outcome strategy. Aims for a deep buffer against losses between -5% and -30% and caps returns at 11.73% for each Target Outcome Period.
Inception date
October 16, 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