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BUFS

GradeAChicago Board Options Exchange

FT Vest Laddered Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETF

Buffered · First Trust · Inception 2024-05-29

$24.88−0.20 (−0.80%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 2:11 PM EDT

History starts May 30, 2024.
Intraday session: down, 21 prints from 25.08 to 24.88. Range 24.85 to 24.95. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$24.84$24.92$24.9610 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.10%
Fund size
$194M
1Y return
+11.4%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
4
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$24.98
52W range
low $21.79high $25.61

The ETF.net BUFS Grade

A

82/ 100

Rank 1 of 21 in Russell 2000 Buffer 15%⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for BUFS. Scores out of 100: Cost 100, Risk 45, Mission not scored, Tradability 82, Holdings 44, Durability 85. Strongest: Cost (100). Weakest: Holdings (44). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 82 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 100
    Category rank1/21 · top 5%

  • 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 45
    Category rank12/19 · mid-pack

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    AScore 82
    Category rank3/21 · top 14%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    CScore 44
    Category rank6/6 · bottom quartile

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    AScore 85
    Category rank3/21 · top 14%

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

Our read on BUFS

ETF.net Research

AMost buffer funds make you pick a start month and live with it. BUFS ladders First Trust's small-cap buffer funds instead, so one ticker holds several outcome periods at different stages.

Stated mandate

The fund seeks capital appreciation by providing small-cap equity exposure through a laddered portfolio of FT Vest U.S. Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETFs while attempting to limit downside risk.

Why people hold it

  1. 01Laddering spreads the money across outcome periods that begin at different times, so buying on a random Tuesday doesn't lock you into one cap and one buffer window.
  2. 02Puts the moderate-buffer wrapper on small caps, benchmarked to the Russell 2000 via IWM, rather than the large-cap index most defined-outcome funds are built on.
  3. 03One holding does the housekeeping: no DIY stack of separate buffer funds, no roll-date calendar to babysit.

Worth knowing

  1. 01Fees run 1.01% a year, above the roughly 0.89% median for buffer ETFs. Structured downside cushioning rents expensive shelf space.
  2. 02Laddering blurs the math. At any moment you hold partial buffers and partial caps across several periods, so there's no single clean protection number to point at.
  3. 03Launched in 2024 and lightly traded, so the record is short and the bid-ask spread is part of what you pay.

BUFS Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:46 PM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
4
Top-10 weight
100%
Largest holding
SNOV25.3%

Geography

  • United States100.00%
The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001SNOVFT Vest U.S. Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETF - November25.32%1,782,485$49M1
002SFEBFT Vest U.S. Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETF - February24.90%1,845,871$48M1
003SMAYFT Vest U.S. Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETF - May24.85%1,716,788$48M1
004SAUGFT Vest U.S. Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETF - August24.84%1,751,074$48M1
005—US Dollar0.08%159,911$160K394

Showing 1–5 of 5 holdings

BUFS Performance

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

BUFS$11,137
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. BUFS $11,137. 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 BUFS. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodBUFS
Year to date+9.8%
1 month−1.1%
3 months+0.4%
1 year+11.4%
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 BUFS
YearReturn barBUFS
2026 YTD+9.8%
2025+7.1%
2024+6.8%

History from May 30, 2024

BUFS in the news

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

BUFS Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

BUFS Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
8.2%
Annualised · 27 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.
0.78
vs 3-month T-bills · 27 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.
−15.0%
27 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.
0.52
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.

BUFS Cost

Expense ratio0.10%
  • The middle half of Russell 2000 Buffer 15% funds
  • Median 0.74%

No Russell 2000 Buffer 15% fund charges less.

BUFS costs $10.00 a year on $10,000. The median Russell 2000 Buffer 15% fund costs $74.00.