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BUFD

GradeAChicago Board Options Exchange

FT Vest Laddered Deep Buffer ETF

Buffered · First Trust · Inception 2021-01-20 · SEC filings

$30.43−0.07 (−0.23%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 2:20 PM EDT

Intraday session: down, 57 prints from 30.50 to 30.43. Range 30.39 to 30.47. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$30.40$30.44$30.4810 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.10%
Fund size
$2.1B
1Y return
+10.5%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
12
Volume · 30D
0.3M sh
NAV per share
$30.47
52W range
low $27.38high $30.64

The ETF.net BUFD Grade

A

76/ 100

Rank 2 of 18 in S&P 500 Laddered Buffer⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for BUFD. Scores out of 100: Cost 82, Risk 58, Mission not scored, Tradability 81, Holdings 73, Durability 88. Strongest: Durability (88). Weakest: Risk (58). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 76 of 100 sits in the A 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.
    AScore 82
    Category rank3/18 · top 17%

  • 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.
    BScore 58
    Category rank8/18 · top 44%

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    AScore 81
    Category rank2/18 · top 11%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    AScore 73
    Category rank4/17 · top 24%

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    AScore 88
    Category rank2/18 · top 11%

Graded as of Sep 22, 2026 · Based on 5 of 6 pillars

Our read on BUFD

ETF.net Research

ATwelve First Trust deep buffer funds in one ticker, one resetting every month, so you never have to time an outcome period. The trade: a deeper cushion means a lower ceiling, and the ladder wrapper runs 0.95% a year.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks capital appreciation by providing U.S. large-cap equity exposure while limiting downside risk through a laddered portfolio of twelve FT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETFs.

Why people hold it

  1. 01One ticker holds twelve deep buffer funds on a monthly ladder, so there's no start month to pick and no buying in with a cushion that's already half spent.ftportfolios.com
  2. 02Laddering spreads reset risk across twelve staggered outcome periods instead of one all-or-nothing 12-month window tied to a single entry date.
  3. 03A multi-billion-dollar fund running since 2021, with U.S. large-cap exposure referenced to the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.

Worth knowing

  1. 01At 0.95%, it prices above the 0.79% median in its buffer peer group, and rival laddered wrappers charge less: BUFP at 0.50%, PSFF at 0.10%.
  2. 02Each underlying fund sets its own buffer and cap at its reset, for its own outcome period, so the protection and ceiling you hold shift month to month.ftportfolios.com
  3. 03Income isn't part of the mandate. The stated objective is capital appreciation, and the fund has not been making distributions.

BUFD Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:40 PM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
12
Top-10 weight
83%
Largest holding
DSEP8.4%

Sectors

  • Technology38.5%
  • Financials12.1%
  • Communication9.6%
  • Consumer Discr.9.3%
  • Health Care9.3%
  • Industrials7.8%
  • Cons. Staples4.5%
  • Energy3.4%
  • Utilities2.0%
  • Real Estate1.8%
  • Materials1.7%

Geography

  • United States100.00%
The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001DSEPFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - September8.37%3,602,068$176M2
002DOCTFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - October8.35%3,664,825$176M1
003DFEBFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - February8.34%3,400,755$175M1
004DJANFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - January8.34%3,767,758$175M1
005DNOVFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - November8.33%3,335,181$175M1
006DDECFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - December8.33%3,612,541$175M1
007DMARFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - March8.33%3,839,675$175M2
008DAPRFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - April8.33%4,204,885$175M1
009DMAYFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - May8.31%3,648,751$175M1
010DJULFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - July8.31%3,416,065$175M1
011DJUNFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - June8.30%3,489,096$174M1
012DAUGFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - August8.29%3,674,068$174M1
013—US Dollar0.07%1,531,610$2M394

Showing 1–13 of 13 holdings

BUFD Performance

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

BUFD$11,055
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. BUFD $11,055. 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 BUFD. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodBUFD
Year to date+8.0%
1 month+0.9%
3 months+2.8%
1 year+10.5%
3 years+12.6%per year
5 years+7.9%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 BUFD
YearReturn barBUFD
2026 YTD+8.0%
2025+10.7%
2024+12.4%
2023+15.4%
2022−7.7%
2021+6.0%

History from Jan 21, 2021

BUFD in the news

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

BUFD Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

BUFD Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
6.3%
Annualised · 36 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.
1.06
vs 3-month T-bills · 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.
−10.8%
Trough Oct 2022
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.
0.41
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.

BUFD Cost

Expense ratio0.10%
  • The middle half of S&P 500 Laddered Buffer funds
  • Median 0.20%

No S&P 500 Laddered Buffer fund charges less.

BUFD costs $10.00 a year on $10,000. The median S&P 500 Laddered Buffer fund costs $20.00.