Skip to content
etf.net

BUFZ

GradeAChicago Board Options Exchange

FT Vest Laddered Moderate Buffer ETF

Buffered · First Trust · Inception 2023-10-25

$28.58−0.07 (−0.24%)

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

History starts Oct 27, 2023.
Intraday session: down, 48 prints from 28.65 to 28.58. Range 28.54 to 28.66. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$28.55$28.60$28.6510 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.10%
Fund size
$1.1B
1Y return
+10.7%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
12
Volume · 30D
0.2M sh
NAV per share
$28.62
52W range
low $25.71high $28.68

The ETF.net BUFZ Grade

A

73/ 100

Rank 3 of 18 in S&P 500 Laddered Buffer⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for BUFZ. Scores out of 100: Cost 82, Risk 62, Mission not scored, Tradability 68, Holdings 73, Durability 73. Strongest: Cost (82). Weakest: Risk (62). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 73 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 rank6/18 · top 33%

  • 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 62
    Category rank6/18 · top 33%

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    BScore 68
    Category rank4/18 · top 22%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    AScore 73
    Category rank6/17 · top 35%

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    AScore 73
    Category rank5/18 · top 28%

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

Our read on BUFZ

ETF.net Research

ABuffer funds usually make you pick a start month and live with it. BUFZ skips the calendar: a ladder of FT Vest moderate-buffer ETFs on staggered outcome periods, so one ticker spreads buffered S&P 500 exposure across the cycle.

Stated mandate

The fund targets capital growth by obtaining U.S. large-cap equity exposure through multiple moderate-buffer ETFs arranged across rolling maturities, with the structure intended to reduce downside risk.

Why people hold it

  1. 01No entry-date roulette. The ladder holds several moderate-buffer funds at different points in their outcome periods, so the buy date matters less than it does with a single-month buffer fund.ftportfolios.com
  2. 02One holding does the work of a do-it-yourself ladder. The rolling and rebalancing across maturities happens inside the fund instead of on your calendar.
  3. 03The underlying exposure is plain vanilla: US large-cap equity referenced to the S&P 500 via SPY, not an exotic custom index.
  4. 04Size and liquidity are real for a niche structure: a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively enough to keep dealing costs from dominating the decision.

Worth knowing

  1. 01Convenience has a price tag: 0.95% a year, above the buffer-peer median of 0.79%, and above laddered rivals like BUFP (0.50%) and IVVM (0.53%). It sits in the lower half of its peer group.
  2. 02Laddering blurs the buffer. Each sleeve sits at a different stage of its own period, so you hold a blend of partial buffers and partial caps rather than one clean stated buffer.
  3. 03Not an income vehicle. The mandate is capital growth with reduced downside risk, and the fund has not been making distributions.

BUFZ Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:42 PM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
12
Top-10 weight
83%
Largest holding
GSEP8.4%

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
001GSEPFT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - September8.36%2,126,880$89M2
002GOCTFT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - October8.34%2,098,248$89M1
003GDECFT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - December8.34%2,192,504$89M1
004GNOVFT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - November8.33%2,086,433$89M1
005GFEBFT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - February8.33%1,986,136$89M1
006GJANFT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - January8.33%1,940,161$89M1
007GMARFT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - March8.33%1,976,861$89M1
008GAPRFT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - April8.31%2,096,278$89M1
009GMAYFT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - May8.31%2,029,468$89M2
010GJUNFT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - June8.31%2,124,343$89M2
011GJULFT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - July8.30%1,999,094$89M1
012GAUGFT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - August8.30%2,114,377$89M1
013—US Dollar0.10%1,056,205$1M394

Showing 1–13 of 13 holdings

BUFZ Performance

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

BUFZ$11,070
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. BUFZ $11,070. 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 BUFZ. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodBUFZ
Year to date+8.0%
1 month+1.0%
3 months+2.9%
1 year+10.7%
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 BUFZ
YearReturn barBUFZ
2026 YTD+8.0%
2025+11.1%
2024+11.5%
2023+9.2%

History from Oct 27, 2023

BUFZ in the news

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

BUFZ Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

BUFZ Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
5.5%
Annualised · 34 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.
1.56
vs 3-month T-bills · 34 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.
−10.1%
34 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.
0.42
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.

BUFZ 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.

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