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YSEPFT Vest International Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - September

Stay safeGrow my money4y track recordRanked #156 of 340 in this goal

Seeks to match the price return of the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF up to a cap of 13.14% while providing a 15% buffer against losses.

By First Trust · Launched 2021

Annual Cost

0.90%

#4,535 of 5,562 · expensive

Fund Size

$124M

#2,731 of 5,562 · mid-size

Dividend YieldGoal

0.00%

Track Record

4 years

#2,468 of 5,562 · seasoned

Performance

Total-return NAV · USD
Growth of $10,000
$11,508+15.1%

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

Classification

How Beacon categorizes this fund

Asset class

Alternative

Strategy

Structured outcome

Index tracked

MSCI EAFE Index

What it actually holds

By weight

Concentration

Top 10 holdings = 102.5% of fundconcentrated

CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.EFA 9 C0.93
85.8%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.EFA 9 C0.93
7.6%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.EFA 9 P93
3.9%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.EFA 9 C0.93
3.8%
Dreyfus Government Cash Management
1.1%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.EFA 9 P93
0.3%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.EFA 9 P93
0.2%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.EFA 9 C105.22
-0.0%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.EFA 9 P79.05
-0.1%
CBOE GLOBAL MARKETS, INC.EFA 9 C105.22
-0.1%

Asset allocation

Stocks
99.4%
Cash
0.6%

Risk profile

Last 12 months · Sharpe & Sortino need 3+ years
Volatility (1Y)
8.3%Low

Year-on-year price swings

Max drawdown
-22.6%Moderate

Worst peak-to-trough loss

Sharpe (3Y)
0.81Decent risk-adjusted returns
Sortino (3Y)
1.17Good downside protection

Where to buy

Listing

Exchange
Cboe BZX

Full fund details

Objective
Seeks to match the price return of the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF up to a cap of 13.14% while providing a 15% buffer against losses.
Strategy
Invests primarily in FLEX Options on the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF to achieve a target outcome strategy. Seeks upside participation up to 13.14% and a buffer against the first 15% of losses.
Inception date
September 17, 2021
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