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BUFC

GradeCNASDAQ Global Market

AB Conservative Buffer ETF

Buffered · Alliance Bernstein · Inception 2023-12-12

$43.40−0.04 (−0.09%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 3:09 PM EDT

History starts Dec 13, 2023.
Intraday session: down, 61 prints from 43.44 to 43.40. Range 43.38 to 43.52. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$43.45$43.5010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.69%
Fund size
$1.1B
1Y return
+7.3%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
7
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$43.47
52W range
low $40.15high $43.52

The ETF.net BUFC Grade

C

53/ 100

Rank 14 of 61 in S&P 500 Buffer 15%⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for BUFC. Scores out of 100: Cost 57, Risk 41, Mission not scored, Tradability 55, Holdings not scored, Durability 71. Strongest: Durability (71). Weakest: Risk (41). Based on 4 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 53 of 100 sits in the C band. Bands: A ≥ 70, B ≥ 55, C ≥ 40, D ≥ 25, F < 25; the scale skips E.

  • Cost

    What you pay to own it — the expense ratio plus trading frictions, ranked within its category.
    BScore 57
    Category rank27/61 · top 44%

  • Mission

    How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.
    Not scored
    —

  • Risk

    How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.
    CScore 41
    Category rank47/57 · bottom quartile

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    BScore 55
    Category rank26/61 · top 43%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    Not scored
    —

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    AScore 71
    Category rank22/61 · top 36%

Graded as of Sep 22, 2026 · Based on 4 of 6 pillars

Our read on BUFC

ETF.net Research

CMost buffer funds lock you into a 12-month outcome period. BUFC resets every three months, targeting 15% downside protection against the S&P 500 with roughly 3% of the upside per period. Deep cushion, short leash.

Stated mandate

The Fund is an actively managed equity ETF seeking conservative capital appreciation with potential partial downside protection. It uses options to establish an upside cap and downside protection over rolling three-month periods, targeting 15% downside protection and about 3% upside participation to the S&P 500.

Why people hold it

  1. 01Uses options to target 15% downside protection against the S&P 500 over rolling three-month periods, so the cushion resets four times a year instead of once.alliancebernstein.com
  2. 02At 0.69%, it costs less than Innovator's 0.79% Power Buffer funds (PJUL, PJAN, POCT) and less than the typical fund in its buffer cohort.
  3. 03Actively managed rather than pinned to a calendar index series, running since 2023, and among the stronger implementations in its buffer peer group.

Worth knowing

  1. 01The price of that deep cushion: upside participation is targeted near 3% per three-month period, so big rallies mostly pass you by.
  2. 02Protection is partial and period-based. Losses past the targeted 15% pass through, and buying mid-period shifts your effective buffer and cap.alliancebernstein.com
  3. 03Thinly traded for its size, so spreads and limit orders deserve attention.

BUFC Holdings

As of Sep 20, 2026, 7:29 AM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
7
Top-10 weight
101%
Largest holding
4SPY 11/30/26 C3.86 4SPY 11/30/26 C3.8697.9%

Sectors

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001—4SPY 11/30/26 C3.86 4SPY 11/30/26 C3.8697.86%1,385,400$1.0B1
002—4SPY 11/30/26 P772.49 4SPY 11/30/26 P772.492.64%1,385,400$28M1
003—ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN GOVT STIF SSC FUND 64BA AGIS 5870.53%5,677,493$6M20
004—OPTIONS MORGAN STANLEY COC OPTION CASH COLLATERAL USD<0.01%2,000$2K3

Showing 1–4 of 4 holdings

BUFC Performance

Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.

BUFC$10,726
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,723
Sep 22, 2025 to Sep 22, 2026. BUFC $10,726. SPY $11,723. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$9,353$10,646$11,940Sep 2025Mar 2026Sep 2026

Sep 22, 2025 – Sep 22, 2026

Returns run to the Sep 22, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.

Trailing total return for BUFC. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodBUFC
Year to date+5.1%
1 month+0.5%
3 months+2.2%
1 year+7.3%
3 yearsFund is under 3 years old—per year
5 yearsFund is under 5 years old—per year
10 yearsFund is under 10 years old—per year

As of the close, with distributions reinvested.

Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.

Annual total returns for BUFC
YearReturn barBUFC
2026 YTD+5.1%
2025+5.5%
2024+10.8%
2023+0.5%

History from Dec 13, 2023

BUFC in the news

ETF.net Research hasn’t filed on BUFC yet — coverage lands here as it’s written.

BUFC Dividends

This fund pays no distributions.
—Last 12 months
Payout per share
—Last 12 months

No distributions in the last 12 months.

BUFC Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
3.5%
Annualised · 32 months to Aug 2026
How it’s calculated: standard deviation

The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.

Return above 3-month US Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
0.93
vs 3-month T-bills · 32 months to Aug 2026
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio

Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.

Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.

The largest fall from a peak to the low that followed.
−8.3%
33 months · trough Apr 2025
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown

The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.

Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.

How strongly the fund’s returns move with its asset-class index.
0.26
vs its asset-class index
How it’s calculated: beta

The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.

BUFC Cost

Expense ratio0.69%
  • The middle half of S&P 500 Buffer 15% funds
  • Median 0.79%

15 of the 50 S&P 500 Buffer 15% funds charge less.

BUFC costs $69.00 a year on $10,000. The median S&P 500 Buffer 15% fund costs $79.00.