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FMAR

GradeCChicago Board Options Exchange

FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - March

Buffered · First Trust · Inception 2021-03-19 · SEC filings

$53.66−0.08 (−0.15%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 1:58 PM EDT

Intraday session: down, 40 prints from 53.73 to 53.66. Range 53.62 to 53.70. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$53.62$53.64$53.68$53.7010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.85%
Fund size
$1.2B
1Y return
+16.0%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
4
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$53.73
52W range
low $46.07high $53.78

The ETF.net FMAR Grade

C

47/ 100

Rank 42 of 77 in S&P 500 Buffer 9-12%⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for FMAR. Scores out of 100: Cost 11, Risk 73, Mission not scored, Tradability 71, Holdings 65, Durability 82. Strongest: Durability (82). Weakest: Cost (11). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 47 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 rank71/77 · 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 73
    Category rank7/73 · top 10%

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    AScore 71
    Category rank15/77 · top 19%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    BScore 65
    Category rank11/42 · top 26%

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    AScore 82
    Category rank12/77 · top 16%

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

Our read on FMAR

ETF.net Research

CThe March seat in First Trust's twelve-month buffer ladder. It holds SPY-linked options built to absorb the first 10% of a year's losses, in exchange for a ceiling on gains that resets every March.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks to track the price return of the State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust, subject to an upside cap and protection against an initial portion of losses during the stated outcome period.

Why people hold it

  1. 01The mechanism is legible: over each one-year outcome period it targets the first 10% of SPY's decline as a cushion, giving up gains above a cap struck at the March reset.
  2. 02Twelve monthly siblings run the same playbook (FJAN, FAPR, FSEP and the rest), so a start month is a choice, or you can ladder several and stop leaning on one reset date.
  3. 03Running since 2021 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund, with the reference asset being the SPY trust itself rather than a bespoke index, inside a standard 1940 Act ETF wrapper.

Worth knowing

  1. 010.85% a year sits at the pricier end of the buffer shelf. Laddered alternatives are cheaper, with BUFB listed at 0.10%.
  2. 02The 10% buffer and the cap belong to a full outcome period. Buy mid-period and you inherit whatever cushion and headroom remain, not the headline terms.
  3. 03It trades thinly and hasn't been paying distributions, so limit orders earn their keep and any return has to show up in the share price.

FMAR Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:42 PM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
4
Top-10 weight
106%
Largest holding
2027-03-19 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 6.49104.7%

Sectors

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001—2027-03-19 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 6.49104.66%16,520$1.2B1
002—2027-03-19 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust P 648.571.06%16,520$13M1
003—US Dollar0.65%7,674,804$8M394

Showing 1–3 of 3 holdings

FMAR Performance

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

FMAR$11,596
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. FMAR $11,596. 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 FMAR. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodFMAR
Year to date+13.2%
1 month+0.9%
3 months+3.0%
1 year+16.0%
3 years+15.0%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 FMAR
YearReturn barFMAR
2026 YTD+13.2%
2025+9.7%
2024+14.6%
2023+20.4%
2022−5.5%
2021+11.4%

History from Mar 22, 2021

FMAR in the news

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

FMAR Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

FMAR Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
7.0%
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.
1.27
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.
−14.4%
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.
0.50
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.

FMAR 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.

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