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DDEC

GradeCChicago Board Options Exchange

FT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - December

Buffered · First Trust · Inception 2020-12-18 · SEC filings

$48.65−0.07 (−0.15%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 3:03 PM EDT

Intraday session: down, 49 prints from 48.73 to 48.65. Range 48.59 to 48.70. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$48.60$48.63$48.67$48.7010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.85%
Fund size
$441M
1Y return
+11.5%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
4
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$48.70
52W range
low $43.33high $48.78

The ETF.net DDEC Grade

C

42/ 100

Rank 15 of 19 in S&P 500 Deep Buffer 25-30%⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for DDEC. Scores out of 100: Cost 31, Risk 49, Mission not scored, Tradability 45, Holdings 57, Durability 63. Strongest: Durability (63). Weakest: Cost (31). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 42 of 100 sits in the C 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.
    DScore 31
    Category rank10/19 · mid-pack

  • 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 49
    Category rank10/18 · mid-pack

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    CScore 45
    Category rank11/19 · mid-pack

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    BScore 57
    Category rank8/12 · mid-pack

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    BScore 63
    Category rank9/19 · top 47%

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

Our read on DDEC

ETF.net Research

CThe deep-buffer version of the trade: DDEC lets the first 5% of an S&P 500 slide go, then absorbs the next 25 points of losses down to a 30% drop, in exchange for a capped upside that resets every December.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks to match the Underlying ETF’s price return up to an upside cap of 11.96%, while buffering losses in the range from 5% through 30% below the initial level during the current outcome period.

Why people hold it

  1. 01Deep, not standard. The first 5% of decline stays with you, then the fund cushions the next 25 points, covering losses down to 30% over the outcome period.ftportfolios.com
  2. 02The reference asset is the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, so the thing being hedged is plain large-cap US equity, and the payoff follows its price return.
  3. 03One of twelve dated siblings, one per calendar month. The December reset lets holders stagger entry points across the series instead of betting on a single start date.
  4. 04Live since 2020, so the structure has run through multiple complete reset cycles rather than one untested stretch.

Worth knowing

  1. 010.85% a year sits right at the deep-buffer median, but Pacer's conservative structured-outcome funds (PSCX, PSCW) charge 0.49% for a defensive brief in the same cohort.
  2. 02Upside is capped and the cushion only starts after a 5% drop. Both terms are set for the one-year period, so buying mid-period changes the cushion and ceiling you actually get.
  3. 03It trades lightly next to the category's largest funds, which can widen the spread between market price and underlying value at the moment of a trade.

DDEC Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:44 PM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
4
Top-10 weight
103%
Largest holding
2026-12-18 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 6.80102.5%

Sectors

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001—2026-12-18 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 6.80102.48%5,975$450M1
002—US Dollar0.49%2,130,637$2M394
003—2026-12-18 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust P 646.560.45%5,975$2M1

Showing 1–3 of 3 holdings

DDEC Performance

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

DDEC$11,155
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. DDEC $11,155. 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 DDEC. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodDDEC
Year to date+8.1%
1 month+1.0%
3 months+3.1%
1 year+11.5%
3 years+13.1%per year
5 years+8.7%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 DDEC
YearReturn barDDEC
2026 YTD+8.1%
2025+12.3%
2024+12.2%
2023+16.8%
2022−6.7%
2021+7.6%
2020+0.8%

History from Dec 21, 2020

DDEC in the news

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

DDEC Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

DDEC Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
6.5%
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.
1.12
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.
−10.2%
Trough Jun 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.
0.48
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.

DDEC Cost

Expense ratio0.85%
  • The middle half of S&P 500 Deep Buffer 25-30% funds
  • Median 0.85%

7 of the 19 S&P 500 Deep Buffer 25-30% funds charge less.

DDEC costs $85.00 a year on $10,000. The median S&P 500 Deep Buffer 25-30% fund costs $85.00.