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FFEBFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - February

Stay safeGrow my money6y track recordRanked #71 of 340 in this goal

Seeks to provide returns with a buffer against the first 10% of 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

$1.4B

#949 of 5,562 · large

Dividend YieldGoal

0.00%

Track Record

6 years

#2,055 of 5,562 · seasoned

Performance

Total-return NAV · USD
Growth of $10,000
$11,959+19.6%

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 = 103.2% of fundconcentrated

CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 2 C6
91.8%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 2 C6
5.4%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 2 C6
5.1%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 2 P599.94
0.5%
Dreyfus Government Cash Management
0.5%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 2 P599.94
0.0%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 2 P599.94
0.0%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 2 P539.95
-0.0%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 2 P539.95
-0.0%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 2 C686.93
-0.2%

Asset allocation

Stocks
99.0%
Cash
1.0%

Risk profile

Last 12 months · Sharpe & Sortino need 3+ years
Volatility (1Y)
7.2%Low

Year-on-year price swings

Max drawdown
-22.8%Moderate

Worst peak-to-trough loss

Sharpe (3Y)
1.20Strong risk-adjusted returns
Sortino (3Y)
1.79Good downside protection

Where to buy

Listing

Exchange
Cboe BZX

Full fund details

Objective
Seeks to provide returns with a buffer against the first 10% of losses of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY).
Strategy
Invests primarily in FLEX Options referencing SPY to implement a target outcome strategy. Aims for a 10% buffer against SPY losses and a cap of 15.01% on returns over a one-year period.
Inception date
February 21, 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 2026-06-20