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FDEC

GradeCChicago Board Options Exchange

FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - December

Buffered · First Trust · Inception 2020-12-18 · SEC filings

$56.06−0.17 (−0.31%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 2:15 PM EDT

Intraday session: down, 47 prints from 56.23 to 56.06. Range 56.04 to 56.20. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$56.10$56.15$56.2010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.85%
Fund size
$1.3B
1Y return
+14.3%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
4
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$56.18
52W range
low $48.63high $56.29

The ETF.net FDEC Grade

C

45/ 100

Rank 46 of 77 in S&P 500 Buffer 9-12%⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for FDEC. Scores out of 100: Cost 11, Risk 54, Mission not scored, Tradability 80, Holdings 63, Durability 80. Strongest: Tradability (80). Weakest: Cost (11). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.
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.
    FScore 11
    Category rank65/77 · 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.
    CScore 54
    Category rank32/73 · top 44%

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    AScore 80
    Category rank7/77 · top 9%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    BScore 63
    Category rank14/42 · top 33%

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    AScore 80
    Category rank16/77 · top 21%

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

Our read on FDEC

ETF.net Research

CThe December door into First Trust's buffer ladder: it absorbs the first 10% of a drop in the big S&P 500 ETF over a one-year stretch, and trades away the rest of the upside above a cap that resets every December.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks to match the price return of the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, subject to a 14.75% upside cap and protection against the first 10% of losses during the stated outcome period.

Why people hold it

  1. 01Mechanically simple: the first 10% of the reference S&P 500 ETF's price decline is absorbed over each one-year outcome period, with a cap set fresh every December.ftportfolios.com
  2. 02One of twelve monthly siblings running the same playbook (FJAN through FNOV), so a fresh outcome period is never far off and start months can be laddered.
  3. 03Live since 2020 with assets in the billions, one of the settled, well-established names in the defined-outcome aisle.

Worth knowing

  1. 010.85% a year sits at the pricier end of the buffer shelf: BUFB charges 0.10% and ZALT 0.69% for a comparable 10% cushion.
  2. 02It follows price return, so S&P 500 dividends are not passed through and the fund has not been making distributions.
  3. 03Thinly traded for its size, and the stated buffer and cap apply in full only across a complete outcome period. Buy mid-period and your own terms differ.

FDEC Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:41 PM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
4
Top-10 weight
102%
Largest holding
2026-12-18 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 6.81101.0%

Sectors

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001—2026-12-18 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 6.81101.01%17,649$1.3B1
002—2026-12-18 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust P 680.590.67%17,649$9M1
003—US Dollar0.48%6,307,964$6M394

Showing 1–3 of 3 holdings

FDEC Performance

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

FDEC$11,430
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. FDEC $11,430. 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 FDEC. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodFDEC
Year to date+9.9%
1 month+1.1%
3 months+3.5%
1 year+14.3%
3 years+16.7%per year
5 years+10.9%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 FDEC
YearReturn barFDEC
2026 YTD+9.9%
2025+14.8%
2024+14.3%
2023+22.8%
2022−9.2%
2021+14.1%
2020+1.4%

History from Dec 21, 2020

FDEC in the news

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

FDEC Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

FDEC Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
8.8%
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.
1.15
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.
−15.7%
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.
0.65
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.

FDEC 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.

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