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Launched · SEC filings

FT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF - August

GAUGCboeFirst TrustC

$41.88−0.05 (−0.12%)

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

C41/ 100

Rank 38 of 61 in S&P 500 Buffer 15%

C41/100Rank 38 of 61inS&P 500 Buffer 15%
Intraday session: down, 79 prints from 41.93 to 41.88. Range 41.85 to 42.19. Use the arrow keys to read each point.42.0042.1042.2010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.85%
Fund size
$415M
1Y total return
+7.8%
Yield · Last 12 months
No data
Holdings
3
Avg volume · 30D
53.1K sh
52W range
low $37.99high $42.61
Launched
Filings
SEC EDGAR

The ETF.net GAUG Grade

Based on 5 of 6 pillars

C

Score 41 out of 100

Category
S&P 500 Buffer 15%⁠
Rank
38 of 61
Six-pillar profile for GAUG. Scores out of 100: Cost 13, Risk 50, Mission not scored, Tradability 73, Holdings 51, Durability 72. Strongest: Tradability (73). Weakest: Cost (13). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.

Score 41 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.
    F13 out of 100
    Rank 47 of 61

  • 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.
    C50 out of 100
    Rank 36 of 60

  • Tradability

    How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.
    A73 out of 100
    Rank 7 of 61

  • Holdings

    How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.
    C51 out of 100
    Rank 26 of 34

  • Durability

    Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.
    A72 out of 100
    Rank 20 of 61

Our read on GAUG

ETF.net Research

In short

CThe August rung of First Trust's buffer ladder: it absorbs the first 15% of an S&P 500 drop over a one-year stretch, in exchange for a ceiling on the gains, reset every August. A deeper cushion than plain index exposure, with a lid as the price.

Stated mandate

The fund seeks to track the price return of the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF up to an 11.89% upside cap while buffering the first 15% of losses during the August 18, 2025–August 21, 2026 outcome period.

Why people hold it

  • Absorbs the first 15% of a decline in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust over each one-year outcome period, in exchange for a cap on gains that resets every August.
  • Twelve monthly siblings run the same 15% buffer playbook, so entry points can be staggered across the calendar instead of hinging on one start date.
  • The reference is the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust itself, not a bespoke index nobody can look up.

Worth knowing

  • At 0.85% a year, it prices above much of its buffer cohort; Innovator's laddered BUFF lists 0.10%.
  • Buy mid-period and your effective cap and cushion differ from the headline terms, which apply to shares held from one August reset to the next.
  • Thinly traded next to the category's giants, so limit orders matter, and the options structure passes through no dividend income.

GAUG Performance

Launched Aug 18, 2023

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.Not enough history yet.
GAUG$10,780
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. GAUG $10,780. 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 GAUG. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodGAUG
Year to date+6.7%
1 month−1.0%
3 months+0.2%
1 year+7.8%
3 yearsper year+12.1%
5 yearsFund is under 5 years oldper yearNo data
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 GAUG
YearReturn barGAUG
2026 YTD+6.7%
2025+11.3%
2024+11.8%
2023+5.8%

History from Aug 21, 2023

GAUG in the news

GAUG Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

GAUG Risk

Risk pillarC50 out of 100Rank 36 of 60 in S&P 500 Buffer 15%
How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
5.7%
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.
1.38
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.
−10.1%
38 months · trough Apr 2025
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.
0.46
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.

GAUG Cost

Compare GAUG and CAUG

Overpaying vs CAUG, tied cheapest in S&P 500 Buffer 15%

$10,050

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

  • GAUG 0.85%

    $16,199

  • CAUG 0.30% Tied cheapest

    $6,149

$10,000
30 years

Cost over time

  • GAUG 0.85%
  • CAUG 0.30%
  • Overpaying
One line per fund, from year 0 to year 30. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$5K$10K$15K$20K051015202530GAUG $16,199CAUG $6,149

Year by year

YearGAUGCAUGOverpaying
10$1,508$545$963
20$5,706$2,113$3,593
30$16,199$6,149$10,050

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