Skip to content
etf.net

DSEP

GradeCChicago Board Options Exchange

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

Buffered · First Trust · Inception 2020-09-18

$48.98−0.15 (−0.32%)

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

Intraday session: down, 59 prints from 49.14 to 48.98. Range 48.92 to 49.22. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$48.90$49.10$49.2010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.85%
Fund size
$364M
1Y return
+11.3%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
4
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$49.08
52W range
low $43.28high $49.18

The ETF.net DSEP Grade

C

45/ 100

Rank 12 of 19 in S&P 500 Deep Buffer 25-30%⁠

Confidence High

Six-pillar profile for DSEP. Scores out of 100: Cost 31, Risk 49, Mission 92, Tradability 65, Holdings 38, Durability 85. Strongest: Mission (92). Weakest: Cost (31). Leans toward Mission.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 45 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 rank19/19 · bottom quartile

  • Mission

    How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.
    AScore 92
    Category rank1/1 · bottom quartile

  • Risk

    How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.
    CScore 49
    Category rank11/18 · mid-pack

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    BScore 65
    Category rank6/19 · top 32%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    DScore 38
    Category rank12/12 · bottom quartile

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    AScore 85
    Category rank1/19 · top 5%

Graded as of Sep 22, 2026

Our read on DSEP

ETF.net Research

CThe deep-buffer version of owning the S&P 500: DSEP absorbs the first 5% of a drop itself, then shields losses down to -30% over its one-year September period, in exchange for a capped upside.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks to match the price return of the State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust before fees, subject to an 11.43% upside cap and protection against Underlying ETF losses between -5% and -30% during the stated outcome period.

Why people hold it

  1. 01Deeper cover than a standard buffer fund: 25 points of downside protection, from -5% to -30% of the underlying S&P 500 ETF's price return, over each one-year outcome period.ftportfolios.com
  2. 02September is one rung in First Trust's twelve-month deep buffer ladder (DMAR, DJUN, DDEC and the rest), so start dates can be staggered instead of hinging on one calendar month.
  3. 03Running since 2020, with five-plus years of resetting cap and buffer each September, and a 0.85% fee that sits right at the median for deep-buffer funds.

Worth knowing

  1. 01The shield starts only after a 5% decline, so everyday dips land in full, and the upside cap is reset each September at whatever the options market will pay.
  2. 020.85% is above the cheapest end of the category: Pacer's Swan SOS Conservative funds (PSCX, PSCW, PSCQ) run 0.49%.
  3. 03Thinly traded and built for price return, not income, so limit orders are worth using and there is no regular distribution stream.

DSEP Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:44 PM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
4
Top-10 weight
103%
Largest holding
2027-09-17 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 7.5497.9%
The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001—2027-09-17 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 7.5497.88%4,753$355M1
002—2027-09-17 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust P 723.613.74%4,753$14M1
003—US Dollar1.14%4,125,464$4M394

Showing 1–3 of 3 holdings

DSEP Performance

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

DSEP$11,125
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. DSEP $11,125. 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 DSEP. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodDSEP
Year to date+9.4%
1 month+1.5%
3 months+3.8%
1 year+11.3%
3 years+12.8%per year
5 years+8.8%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 DSEP
YearReturn barDSEP
2026 YTD+9.4%
2025+10.8%
2024+11.3%
2023+18.9%
2022−7.4%
2021+6.4%
2020+4.9%

History from Sep 21, 2020

DSEP in the news

DSEP Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

DSEP Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
6.6%
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.
1.01
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.
−11.8%
Trough Oct 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.
0.47
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.

DSEP 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.

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