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FAUG

GradeCChicago Board Options Exchange

FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - August

Buffered · First Trust · Inception 2019-11-06 · SEC filings

$57.85−0.27 (−0.46%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 3:10 PM EDT

Intraday session: down, 60 prints from 58.12 to 57.85. Range 57.79 to 58.08. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$57.80$57.90$58.00$58.1010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.85%
Fund size
$1.3B
1Y return
+12.1%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
4
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$58.10
52W range
low $50.67high $58.17

The ETF.net FAUG Grade

C

44/ 100

Rank 47 of 77 in S&P 500 Buffer 9-12%⁠

Confidence High

Six-pillar profile for FAUG. Scores out of 100: Cost 11, Risk 53, Mission 95, Tradability 82, Holdings 55, Durability 91. Strongest: Mission (95). Weakest: Cost (11). Leans toward Mission and Durability.
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 rank64/77 · bottom quartile

  • Mission

    How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.
    AScore 95
    Category rank4/4 · bottom quartile

  • Risk

    How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.
    CScore 53
    Category rank37/73 · mid-pack

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    AScore 82
    Category rank6/77 · top 8%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    BScore 55
    Category rank26/42 · mid-pack

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    AScore 91
    Category rank1/77 · top 1%

Graded as of Sep 22, 2026

Our read on FAUG

ETF.net Research

CFirst Trust's August-reset buffer fund absorbs the first 10% of a one-year price decline in the S&P 500 tracker it follows, and caps your upside in exchange. Running since 2019, an early arrival in what is now a crowded category.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks to match the price return of the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, before fees and expenses, up to a predetermined cap while buffering the first 10% of the underlying ETF's losses during the stated outcome period.

Why people hold it

  1. 01The trade is spelled out: first 10% of the reference ETF's price loss absorbed, upside stopped at a cap, dividends left out, clock reset every August.
  2. 02One slot in a full twelve-fund calendar (FJAN through FDEC), so an investor can enter on the August cycle or spread entries across reset months.
  3. 03Live since 2019 and reset every August since, so the mechanics have run through real markets rather than model assumptions.

Worth knowing

  1. 01At 0.85% a year it sits at the pricier end of the buffer shelf: ZALT runs 0.69% and the laddered BUFB 0.10% for related takes on the same idea.
  2. 02Buffer and cap are set for the whole outcome period. Buy mid-period and you inherit whatever cushion and headroom remain, not the headline terms.
  3. 03Trades lightly next to the category's busiest names, so spreads can be part of the entry cost.

FAUG Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:42 PM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
4
Top-10 weight
104%
Largest holding
2027-08-20 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 7.6697.8%

Sectors

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001—2027-08-20 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 7.6697.81%17,281$1.3B1
002—2027-08-20 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust P 765.724.80%17,281$64M1
003—US Dollar1.09%14,402,040$14M394

Showing 1–3 of 3 holdings

FAUG Performance

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

FAUG$11,207
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. FAUG $11,207. 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 FAUG. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodFAUG
Year to date+9.8%
1 month+1.0%
3 months+3.3%
1 year+12.1%
3 years+15.7%per year
5 years+9.5%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 FAUG
YearReturn barFAUG
2026 YTD+9.8%
2025+13.8%
2024+14.5%
2023+17.2%
2022−10.5%
2021+11.5%
2020+12.4%

FAUG in the news

FAUG Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

FAUG Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
7.8%
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.
1.18
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.
−15.9%
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.
0.63
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.

FAUG 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.

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