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FOCT

GradeCChicago Board Options Exchange

FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - October

Buffered · First Trust · Inception 2020-10-16 · SEC filings

$54.12−0.09 (−0.17%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 2:17 PM EDT

Intraday session: down, 56 prints from 54.20 to 54.12. Range 54.09 to 54.31. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$54.15$54.20$54.25$54.3010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.85%
Fund size
$1.2B
1Y return
+14.4%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
4
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$54.19
52W range
low $46.63high $54.29

The ETF.net FOCT Grade

C

44/ 100

Rank 49 of 77 in S&P 500 Buffer 9-12%⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for FOCT. Scores out of 100: Cost 11, Risk 47, Mission not scored, Tradability 87, Holdings 58, Durability 82. Strongest: Tradability (87). Weakest: Cost (11). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.
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 rank74/77 · 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 47
    Category rank49/73 · mid-pack

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    AScore 87
    Category rank4/77 · top 5%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    BScore 58
    Category rank21/42 · top 50%

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    AScore 82
    Category rank13/77 · top 17%

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

Our read on FOCT

ETF.net Research

COne of twelve month-dated buffer funds from First Trust, FOCT absorbs the first 10% of a year's decline in the SPDR S&P 500 fund it tracks, in exchange for an upside cap fixed each October. Index exposure with the sharp edges sanded down.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks to match the price return of the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, subject to a 15.09% upside cap, while protecting the first 10% of losses during the October 20, 2025–October 16, 2026 target-outcome period.

Why people hold it

  1. 01The trade is spelled out up front: the first 10% of the reference fund's price decline absorbed over the year, upside capped at a level set on the October reset day.ftportfolios.com
  2. 02Twelve siblings, one per calendar month (FSEP, FNOV and the rest), so the reset date is a choice rather than a constraint, and the terms reset on the same schedule every year.
  3. 03Running since 2020 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund, so this October dial has already rolled through a stack of full outcome periods.

Worth knowing

  1. 01Buy mid-period and you inherit whatever cap and buffer are left that day, not the headline terms. The full deal belongs to whoever holds from one October reset to the next.ftportfolios.com
  2. 020.85% a year sits on the higher side of its buffer-fund cohort, where the median is closer to 0.79%. Downside protection carries a sticker price.
  3. 03The target is price return, so dividends from the underlying S&P 500 fund don't come along for the ride. This one has not been paying distributions.

FOCT Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:42 PM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
4
Top-10 weight
101%
Largest holding
2026-10-16 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 6.64100.9%

Sectors

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001—2026-10-16 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 6.64100.91%15,995$1.2B1
002—US Dollar0.31%3,750,348$4M394
003—2026-10-16 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust P 664.390.08%15,995$979K1

Showing 1–3 of 3 holdings

FOCT Performance

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

FOCT$11,442
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. FOCT $11,442. 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 FOCT. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodFOCT
Year to date+10.7%
1 month+1.4%
3 months+4.0%
1 year+14.4%
3 years+13.8%per year
5 years+9.6%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 FOCT
YearReturn barFOCT
2026 YTD+10.7%
2025+14.9%
2024+9.6%
2023+17.8%
2022−7.6%
2021+13.1%
2020+6.4%

History from Oct 19, 2020

FOCT in the news

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

FOCT Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

FOCT Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
8.4%
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.
0.85
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.
−14.1%
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.
0.62
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.

FOCT 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.

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