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GMAYFT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - May

Stay safeGrow my money3y track recordRanked #96 of 340 in this goal

Seeks to match the price return of SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust up to 12.32% while providing a 15% loss buffer.

By First Trust · Launched 2023

Annual Cost

0.85%

#4,336 of 5,562 · expensive

Fund Size

$456M

#1,638 of 5,562 · large

Dividend YieldGoal

0.00%

Track Record

3 years

#3,018 of 5,562 · seasoned

Performance

Total-return NAV · USD
Growth of $10,000
$11,139+11.4%

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 = 107.4% of fundconcentrated

CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 5 C5.96
84.9%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 5 C5.96
15.3%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 5 C5.96
5.7%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 5 P594.22
1.1%
Dreyfus Government Cash Management
0.7%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 5 P594.22
0.2%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 5 P594.22
0.1%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 5 P505.09
-0.0%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 5 P505.09
-0.1%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.SPY 5 C667.43
-0.4%

Asset allocation

Stocks
98.8%
Cash
1.2%

Risk profile

Last 12 months · Sharpe & Sortino need 3+ years
Volatility (1Y)
5.1%Low

Year-on-year price swings

Max drawdown
-11.7%Mild

Worst peak-to-trough loss

Sharpe (3Y)
0.97Decent risk-adjusted returns
Sortino (3Y)
1.43Good downside protection

Where to buy

Listing

Exchange
Cboe BZX

Full fund details

Objective
Seeks to match the price return of SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust up to 12.32% while providing a 15% loss buffer.
Strategy
Invests primarily in FLEX Options referencing the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust to achieve a target outcome strategy. Aims for upside participation up to a cap of 12.32% and a buffer against the first 15% of losses.
Inception date
May 19, 2023
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