FT Vest Laddered Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETF
$24.68−0.04 (−0.16%)
- 0.10%
- $197M
- +11.1%
- 0M sh
- $24.75
- low $21.79high $25.61
The ETF.net BUFS Grade
A
Score 79 out of 100
- 1 of 21
Score 79 of 100 falls in the A band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.A100 out of 100Rank 1 of 21Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.C44 out of 100Rank 12 of 20Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.A73 out of 100Rank 3 of 21Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.C44 out of 100Rank 6 of 6Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A85 out of 100Rank 2 of 21
Our read on BUFS
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.
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
- Laddering 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.
- Puts 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.
- One holding does the housekeeping: no DIY stack of separate buffer funds, no roll-date calendar to babysit.
Worth knowing
- Fees run 1.01% a year, above the roughly 0.89% median for buffer ETFs. Structured downside cushioning rents expensive shelf space.
- Laddering 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.
- Launched in 2024 and lightly traded, so the record is short and the bid-ask spread is part of what you pay.
BUFS Holdings
- Other
- 5
- 100%
- SNOV
Geography
- United States100.00%
BUFS Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
Not enough history yet.Not enough history yet.Not enough history yet.
BUFS$11,105
Returns run to the Oct 12, 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.
| Period | BUFS |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +8.2% |
| 1 month | −1.4% |
| 3 months | −1.4% |
| 1 year | +11.1% |
| 3 years | — |
| 5 years | — |
| 10 years | — |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | BUFS |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +8.2% | |
| 2025 | +7.1% | |
| 2024 | +6.8% |
BUFS in the news
BUFS Dividends
No distributions in the last 12 months.
BUFS Risk
- 8.3%
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.
- 0.61
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.
- −15.0%
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.
- 0.53
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
0.10%
BUFS0.10%
- The middle half of Russell 2000 Buffer 15% funds
- Median 0.74%
No Russell 2000 Buffer 15% fund charges less.
Other funds in Russell 2000 Buffer 15%
- BQBKFAIM ETF Products Trust - Allianzim U.S. Small Cap Buffer15 ETFExpense ratio 0.74%1 year return —
- BQBKVAIM ETF Products Trust - Allianzim U.S. Small Cap Buffer5 ETFExpense ratio 0.74%1 year return —
- CKOCTInnovator U.S. Small Cap Power Buffer ETFExpense ratio 0.79%1 year return +14.8%
- CKAPRInnovator U.S. Small Cap Power Buffer ETF - AprilExpense ratio 0.79%1 year return +16.0%
- CKJULInnovator Russell 2000 Power Buffer ETF - JulyExpense ratio 0.79%1 year return +7.1%