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Beacon

SMAYFT Vest U.S. Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETF - May

Stay safeGrow my money3y track recordRanked #200 of 340 in this goal

Seeks to match the price return of the iShares Russell 2000 ETF up to a cap of 16.50% while providing a 15% buffer against losses.

By First Trust · Launched 2023

Annual Cost

0.90%

#4,535 of 5,562 · expensive

Fund Size

$100M

#2,947 of 5,562 · mid-size

Dividend YieldGoal

0.00%

Track Record

3 years

#3,018 of 5,562 · seasoned

Performance

Total-return NAV · USD
Growth of $10,000
$11,935+19.4%

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

Russell 2000 Index

What it actually holds

By weight

Concentration

Top 10 holdings = 106.8% of fundconcentrated

CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.IWM 5 C2.1
93.9%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.IWM 5 C2.1
12.6%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.IWM 5 P209.85
1.3%
Dreyfus Government Cash Management
0.7%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.IWM 5 P209.85
0.2%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.IWM 5 P209.85
0.0%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.IWM 5 P178.37
-0.1%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.IWM 5 C244.48
-0.1%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.IWM 5 P178.37
-0.5%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.IWM 5 C244.48
-1.3%

Asset allocation

Stocks
98.8%
Cash
1.2%

Risk profile

Last 12 months · Sharpe & Sortino need 3+ years
Volatility (1Y)
7.6%Low

Year-on-year price swings

Max drawdown
-14.4%Mild

Worst peak-to-trough loss

Sharpe (3Y)
0.69Decent risk-adjusted returns
Sortino (3Y)
1.02Good downside protection

Where to buy

Listing

Exchange
Cboe BZX

Full fund details

Objective
Seeks to match the price return of the iShares Russell 2000 ETF up to a cap of 16.50% while providing a 15% buffer against losses.
Strategy
Invests primarily in FLEX Options linked to the iShares Russell 2000 ETF to implement a target outcome strategy. Seeks to provide upside participation up to 16.50% 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