Skip to content
etf.net

DOCT

GradeCChicago Board Options Exchange

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

Buffered · First Trust · Inception 2020-10-16 · SEC filings

$47.99−0.05 (−0.10%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 1:48 PM EDT

Intraday session: down, 30 prints from 48.04 to 47.99. Range 47.99 to 48.06. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$48.02$48.04$48.0610 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.85%
Fund size
$398M
1Y return
+11.4%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
4
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$48.01
52W range
low $42.76high $48.42

The ETF.net DOCT Grade

C

42/ 100

Rank 16 of 19 in S&P 500 Deep Buffer 25-30%⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for DOCT. Scores out of 100: Cost 31, Risk 51, Mission not scored, Tradability 45, Holdings 52, Durability 65. Strongest: Durability (65). 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 rank18/19 · 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.
    CScore 51
    Category rank9/18 · top 50%

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    CScore 45
    Category rank12/19 · mid-pack

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    CScore 52
    Category rank10/12 · bottom quartile

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    BScore 65
    Category rank8/19 · top 42%

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

Our read on DOCT

ETF.net Research

CFirst Trust runs a dozen near-identical deep-buffer funds, one resetting each month. DOCT is the October slot: a 25-point cushion against losses, a cap on the upside, and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust as its reference.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks to match the price return of the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, subject to a predetermined upside cap, while providing downside protection over the stated October outcome period.

Why people hold it

  1. 01Deep, not shallow: the outcome period carries 25 percentage points of downside buffer against the reference fund, versus the 9-to-15 point cushions typical of standard buffer products.
  2. 02One rung on a 12-month ladder. Same recipe resets in every calendar month (DMAR, DJUN, DDEC and the rest), so an October start date is a choice, not a constraint.
  3. 03Fee sits at 0.85%, exactly the median for deep-buffer funds, and the fund has been running resets since its 2020 launch at a multi-hundred-million size.

Worth knowing

  1. 01The reference is price return, so S&P 500 dividends do not flow through, and the fund itself has not been paying a distribution.
  2. 02Protection is paid for with a ceiling. A new cap is set each October from market pricing at the reset, and buffer and cap only fully apply if you hold the whole period.
  3. 03Cheaper deep-buffer plumbing exists: the Pacer Swan SOS Conservative funds (PSCX, PSCW, PSCQ) charge 0.49%. DOCT also trades thinly, so spreads deserve a look.

DOCT Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:44 PM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
4
Top-10 weight
104%
Largest holding
2026-10-16 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 6.63103.2%

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 6.63103.20%5,435$410M1
002—US Dollar0.31%1,229,174$1M394
003—2026-10-16 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust P 631.170.05%5,435$207K1

Showing 1–3 of 3 holdings

DOCT Performance

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

DOCT$11,140
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. DOCT $11,140. 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 DOCT. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodDOCT
Year to date+8.5%
1 month+1.0%
3 months+3.2%
1 year+11.4%
3 years+11.4%per year
5 years+8.2%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 DOCT
YearReturn barDOCT
2026 YTD+8.5%
2025+12.5%
2024+8.3%
2023+16.1%
2022−5.3%
2021+6.9%
2020+122.9%

Since listing, Oct 16, 2020

DOCT in the news

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

DOCT Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

DOCT Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
6.4%
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.
0.86
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.
−9.9%
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.
0.47
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.

DOCT 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.

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