FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - May
$58.17+0.02 (+0.04%)
- 0.85%
- $1.5B
- +12.5%
- 0.1M sh
- $58.17
- low $51.65high $58.28
The ETF.net FMAY Grade
C
Score 46 out of 100
- 44 of 77
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 100Rank 60 of 77Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.C49 out of 100Rank 45 of 76Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.A90 out of 100Rank 1 of 77Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.B65 out of 100Rank 10 of 44Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A87 out of 100Rank 5 of 77
Our read on FMAY
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.
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 Holdings
- Other
- 3
- 102%
- 2027-05-21 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 7.39
Sectors
- Technology40.1%
- Financials11.3%
- Communication9.9%
- Health Care9.4%
- Consumer Discretionary8.7%
- Industrials7.6%
- Consumer Staples4.4%
- Energy3.4%
- Utilities1.9%
- Real Estate1.7%
- Materials1.6%
FMAY Performance
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$11,254
Returns run to the Oct 12, 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.
| Period | FMAY |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +8.9% |
| 1 month | +1.5% |
| 3 months | +2.8% |
| 1 year | +12.5% |
| 3 years | +14.6% |
| 5 years | +9.7% |
| 10 years | — |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | FMAY |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +8.9% | |
| 2025 | +12.7% | |
| 2024 | +14.5% | |
| 2023 | +17.8% | |
| 2022 | −8.1% | |
| 2021 | +11.0% | |
| 2020 | +11.7% |
FMAY in the news
Filings Digest
AllianzIM launches OCTI and resets October buffer terms
FMAY Dividends
No distributions in the last 12 months.
FMAY Risk
- 7.2%
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.
- 1.30
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.
- −13.6%
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.
- 0.53
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
FMAY Cost
0.85%
FMAY0.85%
- 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.
Other funds in S&P 500 Buffer 9-12%
- CFAPRFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - AprilExpense ratio 0.85%1 year return +11.7%
- CFAUGFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - AugustExpense ratio 0.85%1 year return +14.1%
- CFDECFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - DecemberExpense ratio 0.85%1 year return +16.3%
- CFJANFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - JanuaryExpense ratio 0.85%1 year return +15.5%
- CFJULFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - JulyExpense ratio 0.85%1 year return +14.8%