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BUFT

GradeBChicago Board Options Exchange

FT Vest Buffered Allocation Defensive ETF

Buffered · First Trust · Inception 2021-10-26 · SEC filings

$26.45−0.03 (−0.13%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 2:19 PM EDT

History starts Oct 28, 2021.
Intraday session: down, 32 prints from 26.48 to 26.45. Range 26.42 to 26.48. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$26.42$26.46$26.4810 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.20%
Fund size
$161M
1Y return
+9.7%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
7
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$26.47
52W range
low $24.05high $26.59

The ETF.net BUFT Grade

B

58/ 100

Rank 6 of 18 in S&P 500 Laddered Buffer⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for BUFT. Scores out of 100: Cost 53, Risk 81, Mission not scored, Tradability 55, Holdings 45, Durability 58. Strongest: Risk (81). Weakest: Holdings (45). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 58 of 100 sits in the B 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.
    CScore 53
    Category rank9/18 · top 50%

  • 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.
    AScore 81
    Category rank2/18 · top 11%

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    BScore 55
    Category rank7/18 · top 39%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    CScore 45
    Category rank11/17 · mid-pack

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    BScore 58
    Category rank8/18 · top 44%

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

Our read on BUFT

ETF.net Research

BOne ticket instead of a whole ladder of dated buffer funds: BUFT owns a basket of S&P 500 buffer ETFs tilted to the defensive end, with capital preservation as its stated goal. That convenience carries a 1.21% price tag.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks capital preservation by investing in ETFs whose returns are tied to SPY up to a predetermined cap and that provide a defined buffer against SPY losses over a one-year period.

Why people hold it

  1. 01Buy the ladder, skip the legwork: one holding spreads you across several S&P 500 buffer ETFs instead of tracking start dates, caps and rolls fund by fund.ftportfolios.com
  2. 02The reference point is plain vanilla: the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust. No bespoke index under the options layer, just the benchmark everyone already knows.ftportfolios.com
  3. 03Downside cushion is the entire design. Each underlying fund absorbs a defined slice of S&P 500 losses across its one-year outcome period before losses reach the shareholder.ftportfolios.com

Worth knowing

  1. 01At 1.21%, you pay for the wrapper plus the funds inside it, which lands above the typical buffer ETF. First Trust's own laddered BUFR runs cheaper.
  2. 02Caps are the price of cushions: upside is limited to a preset ceiling each period, and the fund has not been paying distributions.
  3. 03Assets are modest and trading is thin, so spreads can widen. Limit orders are the standard tool for funds in this volume range.

BUFT Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:46 PM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
7
Top-10 weight
100%
Largest holding
XSEP17.3%

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
001XSEPFT Vest U.S. Equity Enhance & Moderate Buffer ETF - September17.26%614,936$28M2
002XOCTFT Vest U.S. Equity Enhance & Moderate Buffer ETF - October15.70%627,080$25M2
003XNOVFT Vest U.S. Equity Enhance & Moderate Buffer ETF - November15.10%601,771$24M2
004XMARFT Vest U.S. Equity Enhance & Moderate Buffer ETF - March14.17%524,437$23M2
005XDECFT Vest U.S. Equity Enhance & Moderate Buffer ETF - December13.20%486,198$21M2
006DMARFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - March12.37%437,103$20M2
007GSEPFT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - September12.18%466,176$20M2
008—US Dollar0.02%33,660$34K394

Showing 1–8 of 8 holdings

BUFT Performance

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

BUFT$10,973
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. BUFT $10,973. 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 BUFT. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodBUFT
Year to date+7.7%
1 month+0.8%
3 months+2.3%
1 year+9.7%
3 years+10.3%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 BUFT
YearReturn barBUFT
2026 YTD+7.7%
2025+9.7%
2024+7.7%
2023+12.9%
2022−8.4%
2021+0.6%

History from Oct 28, 2021

BUFT in the news

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

BUFT Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

BUFT Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
4.4%
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.
1.04
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.
−10.4%
58 months · trough Sep 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.
0.30
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.

BUFT Cost

Expense ratio0.20%
  • The middle half of S&P 500 Laddered Buffer funds
  • Median 0.20%

8 of the 18 S&P 500 Laddered Buffer funds charge less.

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