FT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - February
$52.09+0.01 (+0.01%)
- 0.85%
- $452M
- +13.0%
- 0M sh
- $52.07
- low $46.16high $52.10
The ETF.net DFEB Grade
C
Score 52 out of 100
- 5 of 19
Score 52 of 100 falls in the C 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.D31 out of 100Rank 8 of 19Mission
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.B69 out of 100Rank 2 of 19Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.B66 out of 100Rank 6 of 19Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.B63 out of 100Rank 5 of 12Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A75 out of 100Rank 3 of 19
Our read on DFEB
CA buffer with a deductible. DFEB lets the first 5% of a drop in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust land on you, then covers the next 25 points, in exchange for an upside cap that resets every February.
The Fund seeks to match the price return of the State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust before fees and expenses, subject to an 11.87% upside cap, while protecting against Underlying ETF losses from -5% through -30% during the February 23, 2026–February 19, 2027 outcome period.
Why people hold it
- Deep coverage where it hurts: the fund targets protection against reference-ETF losses from -5% through -30%, a 25-point band, over each one-year outcome period.
- One of twelve monthly vintages on the same reference ETF (DMAR, DJUN, DDEC and the rest), so entries can be laddered across the calendar instead of hinging on one start date.
- Running since 2020, it has rolled through several full outcome periods, and it sits in the upper half of its deep-buffer peer group.
- At 0.85%, the fee sits right at the median for deep-buffer funds tracking this kind of strategy.
Worth knowing
- The trade for depth: you absorb the first 5% of losses yourself, and gains stop at a cap that is reset each February from option pricing at the time.
- It tracks price return only, so the reference ETF's dividends are not passed along, and the fund has not been paying distributions.
- Cheaper deep-buffer options exist (PSCX and PSCW run 0.49%), and DFEB trades lightly, so limit orders are the sane way in and out.
DFEB Holdings
- Other
- 3
- 105%
- 2027-02-19 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 6.88
Sectors
- Technology40.1%
- Financials11.3%
- Communication9.9%
- Health Care9.4%
- Consumer Discretionary8.7%
- Industrials7.6%
- Consumer Staples4.4%
- Energy3.4%
- Utilities1.9%
- Real Estate1.7%
- Materials1.6%
DFEB 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.
DFEB$11,298
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 | DFEB |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +9.1% |
| 1 month | +1.2% |
| 3 months | +2.6% |
| 1 year | +13.0% |
| 3 years | +13.9% |
| 5 years | +8.6% |
| 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 | DFEB |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +9.1% | |
| 2025 | +11.8% | |
| 2024 | +13.9% | |
| 2023 | +12.5% | |
| 2022 | −5.4% | |
| 2021 | +8.8% | |
| 2020 | +6.8% |
DFEB in the news
DFEB Dividends
No distributions in the last 12 months.
DFEB Risk
- 6.3%
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.
- 1.42
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.
- −10.0%
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.
- 0.50
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
DFEB Cost
0.85%
DFEB0.85%
- 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.
Other funds in S&P 500 Deep Buffer 25-30%
- BPSCQPacer Swan SOS Conservative (October) ETFExpense ratio 0.49%1 year return +13.3%
- BPSCWPacer Swan SOS Conservative (April) ETFExpense ratio 0.49%1 year return +13.1%
- CDJULFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - JulyExpense ratio 0.85%1 year return +11.8%
- CPSCJPacer Swan SOS Conservative (July) ETFExpense ratio 0.49%1 year return +11.3%
- CDAUGFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - AugustExpense ratio 0.85%1 year return +11.2%