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BUFR

GradeAChicago Board Options Exchange

FT Vest Laddered Buffer ETF

Buffered · First Trust · Inception 2020-08-10

$37.59−0.09 (−0.23%)

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

Intraday session: down, 59 prints from 37.67 to 37.59. Range 37.53 to 37.67. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$37.55$37.6510 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.10%
Fund size
$10.7B
1Y return
+12.8%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
12
Volume · 30D
1.3M sh
NAV per share
$37.68
52W range
low $33.03high $37.73

The ETF.net BUFR Grade

A

76/ 100

Rank 1 of 18 in S&P 500 Laddered Buffer⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for BUFR. Scores out of 100: Cost 82, Risk 46, Mission not scored, Tradability 92, Holdings 73, Durability 92. Strongest: Tradability (92). Weakest: Risk (46). 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 rank5/18 · top 28%

  • 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 46
    Category rank12/18 · mid-pack

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    AScore 92
    Category rank1/18 · top 6%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    AScore 73
    Category rank9/17 · mid-pack

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    AScore 92
    Category rank1/18 · top 6%

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

Our read on BUFR

ETF.net Research

AMost buffer ETFs make you pick a start month. BUFR skips the calendar: twelve underlying FT Vest buffer funds on a rolling monthly ladder, each cushioning the first 10% of S&P 500 ETF losses in exchange for a cap.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks capital appreciation through U.S. large-cap equity exposure and a laddered portfolio of twelve underlying buffer ETFs. Those underlying ETFs seek SPY price-return exposure up to caps while buffering the first 10% of SPY losses.

Why people hold it

  1. 01The ladder is the whole idea: twelve underlying buffer funds resetting on a staggered schedule, so one purchase date doesn't lock you into a single year's cap and buffer.ftportfolios.com
  2. 02Each sleeve is built to absorb the first 10% of SPY's price decline over its outcome period. A defined cushion written into the fund's documents, not a manager's judgment call.
  3. 03One ticker replaces a twelve-fund do-it-yourself ladder, and it's a multi-billion-dollar, actively traded name in a corner of the market full of thin ones.
  4. 04Running since 2020, it sits in the upper half of its buffer peer group on our review, with a wide underlying basket rather than a single-month bet.

Worth knowing

  1. 01The convenience costs: 0.95% a year, richer than the typical fund in its buffer group, and cheaper defensive structures exist (SWAN at 0.49%, DMAX at 0.53%).
  2. 02Caps are the trade for the cushion. The sleeves track SPY's price return only, so dividends and the top of a big rally stay outside the deal.
  3. 03Laddering blends outcomes rather than delivering one: each sleeve sits at a different point in its own period, so your protection at any moment is partial, not a clean 10% floor.

BUFR Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:40 PM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
12
Top-10 weight
83%
Largest holding
FSEP8.4%

Sectors

  • Technology38.4%
  • Financials12.1%
  • Communication9.6%
  • Consumer Discr.9.4%
  • 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
001FSEPFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - September8.40%15,656,160$895M1
002FOCTFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - October8.36%16,527,274$891M1
003FNOVFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - November8.34%14,818,763$889M1
004FMARFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - March8.34%16,614,057$888M1
005FJANFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - January8.33%15,728,494$888M2
006FDECFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - December8.33%15,903,745$887M1
007FFEBFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - February8.33%14,213,256$887M2
008FAPRFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - April8.32%18,592,623$887M2
009FJULFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - July8.31%14,492,426$886M1
010FMAYFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - May8.30%15,448,574$885M2
011FJUNFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - June8.30%14,494,782$885M2
012FAUGFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - August8.30%15,365,427$884M1
013—US Dollar0.05%5,836,943$6M394

Showing 1–13 of 13 holdings

BUFR Performance

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

BUFR$11,282
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. BUFR $11,282. 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 BUFR. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodBUFR
Year to date+10.0%
1 month+1.0%
3 months+3.4%
1 year+12.8%
3 years+15.2%per year
5 years+10.2%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 BUFR
YearReturn barBUFR
2026 YTD+10.0%
2025+12.4%
2024+14.7%
2023+19.6%
2022−7.6%
2021+11.9%
2020+7.6%

History from Aug 11, 2020

BUFR in the news

BUFR Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

BUFR Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
7.7%
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.
1.14
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.
−13.7%
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.
0.60
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.

BUFR 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.

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