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DHDG

GradeCChicago Board Options Exchange

FT Vest U.S. Equity Quarterly 2.5 to 15 Buffer ETF

Buffered · First Trust · Inception 2024-10-18

$37.82−0.13 (−0.33%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 2:34 PM EDT

History starts Oct 21, 2024.
Intraday session: down, 8 prints from 37.95 to 37.82. Range 37.80 to 37.95. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$37.80$37.85$37.90$37.9510 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.85%
Fund size
$77M
1Y return
+15.1%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
4
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$37.91
52W range
low $32.82high $37.96

The ETF.net DHDG Grade

C

44/ 100

Rank 50 of 77 in S&P 500 Buffer 9-12%⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for DHDG. Scores out of 100: Cost 11, Risk 79, Mission not scored, Tradability 58, Holdings 63, Durability 58. Strongest: Risk (79). Weakest: Cost (11). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 44 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.
    FScore 11
    Category rank62/77 · bottom quartile

  • 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 79
    Category rank1/73 · top 1%

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    BScore 58
    Category rank30/77 · top 39%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    BScore 63
    Category rank13/42 · top 31%

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    BScore 58
    Category rank30/77 · top 39%

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

Our read on DHDG

ETF.net Research

CMost buffer ETFs lock in one cap for a full year. DHDG re-strikes every quarter against the S&P 500 ETF's price return, and it asks for a deductible: you take the first 2.5% of a drop, the fund absorbs the next 12.5 points.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks to match the price return of the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust before fees and expenses, subject to a 4.30% upside cap, while buffering losses in the -2.5% to -15% range during the stated outcome period.

Why people hold it

  1. 01The buffer skips the first 2.5% of losses and runs down to -15%, spending its protection on a real drawdown rather than the first wobble.ftportfolios.com
  2. 02Quarterly outcome periods reset the terms four times a year, so the cap is struck against current market conditions instead of one date twelve months back.
  3. 03A plain 1940 Act ETF, not a structured note from a bank, and it lands in the upper half of a crowded field of S&P 500 buffer funds.

Worth knowing

  1. 01The 0.85% expense ratio sits above cheaper laddered buffer options such as BUFP (0.50%) and IVVM (0.53%).
  2. 02Upside is capped each quarter and the cap is fixed at the period's start. Buy mid-period and your effective cap and remaining buffer differ from the stated terms.
  3. 03The reference is the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust's price return, so index dividends sit outside the outcome and this hasn't been an income payer.

DHDG Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:48 PM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
4
Top-10 weight
101%
Largest holding
2026-10-16 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 7.4399.4%

Sectors

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001—2026-10-16 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 7.4399.44%1,005$76M1
002—US Dollar0.90%684,810$685K394
003—2026-10-16 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust P 724.710.30%1,005$232K1

Showing 1–3 of 3 holdings

DHDG Performance

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

DHDG$11,513
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. DHDG $11,513. 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 DHDG. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodDHDG
Year to date+11.6%
1 month+1.2%
3 months+4.2%
1 year+15.1%
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 DHDG
YearReturn barDHDG
2026 YTD+11.6%
2025+11.4%
2024+0.5%

History from Oct 21, 2024

DHDG in the news

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

DHDG Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

DHDG Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
6.6%
Annualised · 22 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.
1.27
vs 3-month T-bills · 22 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.
−8.3%
23 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.
0.46
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.

DHDG Cost

Expense ratio0.85%
  • The middle half of S&P 500 Buffer 9-12% funds
  • Median 0.79%

59 of the 77 S&P 500 Buffer 9-12% funds charge less.

DHDG costs $85.00 a year on $10,000. The median S&P 500 Buffer 9-12% fund costs $79.00.