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Launched

FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - September

FSEPCboeFirst TrustC

$56.72−0.21 (−0.37%)

At close: Nov 2, 2026, 4:00 PM ET

C45/ 100

Rank 48 of 77 in S&P 500 Buffer 9-12%

C45/100Rank 48 of 77inS&P 500 Buffer 9-12%
Intraday session: down, 79 prints from 56.93 to 56.72. Range 56.72 to 57.29. Use the arrow keys to read each point.56.8057.0057.1057.2057.3010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.85%
Fund size
$1.43B
1Y total return
+11.1%
Yield · Last 12 months
No data
Holdings
3
Avg volume · 30D
49.9K sh
52W range
low $49.14high $58.06
Launched

The ETF.net FSEP Grade

Based on 5 of 6 pillars

C

Score 45 out of 100

Category
S&P 500 Buffer 9-12%⁠
Rank
48 of 77
Six-pillar profile for FSEP. Scores out of 100: Cost 11, Risk 52, Mission not scored, Tradability 89, Holdings 54, Durability 83. Strongest: Tradability (89). Weakest: Cost (11). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.

Score 45 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.
    C52 out of 100
    Rank 38 of 77

  • Tradability

    How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.
    A89 out of 100
    Rank 2 of 77

  • Holdings

    How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.
    C54 out of 100
    Rank 29 of 45

  • Durability

    Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.
    A83 out of 100
    Rank 9 of 77

Our read on FSEP

ETF.net Research

In short

CThe September rung of First Trust's twelve-month buffer ladder. It follows the price return of State Street's S&P 500 ETF, absorbs the first 10% of losses, and trades away upside above a cap that resets every September.

Stated mandate

The fund seeks to track the price return of the State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust before fees and expenses, subject to a 14.00% upside cap and protection against the first 10% of losses during the stated outcome period.

Why people hold it

  • The cushion is written into the mandate, not left to a manager's judgment: across each one-year period the options package absorbs the first 10% of a decline in the reference S&P 500 ETF, before fees.
  • Twelve sibling funds, one per calendar month, all at the same 0.85% fee. Pick a start month or stack several so your protection isn't tied to a single September date.
  • Running since 2020 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund with moderate trading activity, so the September vintage is a well-used rung rather than a thin experiment.

Worth knowing

  • At 0.85% a year it prices above the typical buffer fund, and cheaper paths to a 10% buffer exist (BUFB at 0.10%, ZALT at 0.69%).
  • Built to be held from one September reset to the next. Buy mid-period and your effective cap and leftover cushion differ from the stated terms.
  • No distributions, so the payoff arrives in the share price. And the cushion stops at 10%; declines past that land on you alongside the reference ETF.

FSEP Performance

Launched Sep 18, 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.
FSEP$11,111
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,146
Oct 31, 2025 to Nov 2, 2026. FSEP $11,111. SPY $11,146. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$10,000$11,000Oct 2025May 2026Nov 2026

Oct 31, 2025 – Nov 2, 2026

Returns run to the Nov 2, 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 FSEP. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodFSEP
Year to date+10.0%
1 month−1.3%
3 months+2.2%
1 year+11.1%
3 yearsper year+14.9%
5 yearsper year+9.8%
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 FSEP
YearReturn barFSEP
2026 YTD+10.0%
2025+12.8%
2024+13.6%
2023+20.2%
2022−7.1%
2021+11.6%
2020+9.4%

History from Sep 21, 2020

FSEP in the news

FSEP Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

FSEP Risk

Risk pillarC52 out of 100Rank 38 of 77 in S&P 500 Buffer 9-12%
How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
7.5%
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.
1.43
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.
−13.8%
Trough Jun 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.

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

FSEP Cost

Compare FSEP 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.

  • FSEP 0.85%

    $16,199

  • XTR 0.25% Cheapest

    $5,159

$10,000
30 years

Cost over time

  • FSEP 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$20K051015202530FSEP $16,199XTR $5,159

Year by year

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

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