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Launched · SEC filings

FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - May

FMAYCboeFirst TrustC

$56.86−0.19 (−0.33%)

As of Nov 2, 2026, 3:59 PM ET

C46/ 100

Rank 44 of 77 in S&P 500 Buffer 9-12%

C46/100Rank 44 of 77inS&P 500 Buffer 9-12%
Intraday session: down, 79 prints from 57.05 to 56.86. Range 56.86 to 57.47. Use the arrow keys to read each point.57.2057.3057.4057.5010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.85%
Fund size
$1.47B
1Y total return
+8.5%
Yield · Last 12 months
No data
Holdings
3
Avg volume · 30D
25.8K sh
52W range
low $51.65high $58.28
Launched
Filings
SEC EDGAR

The ETF.net FMAY Grade

Based on 5 of 6 pillars

C

Score 46 out of 100

Category
S&P 500 Buffer 9-12%⁠
Rank
44 of 77
Six-pillar profile for FMAY. Scores out of 100: Cost 11, Risk 53, Mission not scored, Tradability 84, Holdings 64, Durability 86. Strongest: Durability (86). Weakest: Cost (11). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.

Score 46 of 100 falls in the C band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.

  • Cost

    The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.
    F11 out of 100
    Rank 60 of 77

  • Mission

    Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.
    Not scored

  • Risk

    How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.
    C53 out of 100
    Rank 35 of 77

  • Tradability

    How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.
    A84 out of 100
    Rank 4 of 77

  • Holdings

    How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.
    B64 out of 100
    Rank 12 of 45

  • Durability

    Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.
    A86 out of 100
    Rank 5 of 77

Our read on FMAY

ETF.net Research

In short

CFirst Trust's May rung on a twelve-month buffer ladder: it absorbs the first 10% of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust's price losses over a one-year stretch, trades that cushion for an upside cap, then resets every May.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks pre-fee, pre-expense returns linked to the price return of the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, subject to a 17.09% upside cap and protection against the first 10% of losses during the current May outcome period.

Why people hold it

  • Mechanically simple: across each one-year period it seeks to absorb the first 10% of the reference ETF's price decline, in exchange for an upside cap set at the May reset.ftportfolios.com
  • Twelve monthly siblings (FJAN through FDEC) run the same 10% buffer on the same reference ETF, so entries can be laddered or rolled into a fresh period in any month.ftportfolios.com
  • Built from exchange-listed FLEX options inside an ETF wrapper: daily liquidity, no surrender schedule, no minimum holding term.sec.govftportfolios.com
  • Seasoned by buffer-fund standards: running since 2020 and carrying over a billion dollars, which puts it among the larger, longer-lived funds in this niche.

Worth knowing

  • At 0.85% a year it costs more than the typical fund in its buffer peer group, and laddered alternatives such as BUFB charge a fraction of that.
  • It follows price return only, so the reference ETF's dividends are left out, and the stated cap and buffer are quoted before fees and expenses.sec.gov
  • Cap and buffer are designed for holders across the full outcome period; buy mid-period and your own numbers differ. Each May's new cap depends on market rates at the reset.ftportfolios.comsec.gov

FMAY Performance

Launched May 15, 2020

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

Not enough history yet.
FMAY$10,852
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,199
Oct 31, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026. FMAY $10,852. SPY $11,199. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$10,000$11,000Oct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

Returns run to the Oct 30, 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 FMAY. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodFMAY
Year to date+6.7%
1 month−0.6%
3 months+1.2%
1 year+8.5%
3 yearsper year+14.8%
5 yearsper year+8.7%
10 yearsFund is under 10 years oldper yearNo data

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 FMAY
YearReturn barFMAY
2026 YTD+6.7%
2025+12.7%
2024+14.5%
2023+17.8%
2022−8.1%
2021+11.0%
2020+11.7%

History from May 19, 2020

FMAY in the news

FMAY Dividends

This fund pays no distributions.
No dataLast 12 months
Payout per share
No dataLast 12 months

No distributions in the last 12 months.

FMAY Risk

Risk pillarC53 out of 100Rank 35 of 77 in S&P 500 Buffer 9-12%
How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
7.1%
Annualised · 36 months to Oct 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.
1.37
vs 3-month T-bills · to Oct 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.
−13.6%
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.
0.58
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.

FMP measures it over up to five years of monthly returns.

FMAY Cost

Compare FMAY and XTR

Overpaying vs XTR, cheapest in S&P 500 Buffer 9-12%

$11,040

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

  • FMAY 0.85%

    $16,199

  • XTR 0.25% Cheapest

    $5,159

$10,000
30 years

Cost over time

  • FMAY 0.85%
  • XTR 0.25%
  • Overpaying
One line per fund, from year 0 to year 30. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$5K$10K$15K$20K051015202530FMAY $16,199XTR $5,159

Year by year

YearFMAYXTROverpaying
10$1,508$455$1,053
20$5,706$1,769$3,937
30$16,199$5,159$11,040

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