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GDEC

GradeCChicago Board Options Exchange

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

Buffered · First Trust · Inception 2023-12-15

$40.85−0.07 (−0.18%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 2:19 PM EDT

History starts Dec 18, 2023.
Intraday session: down, 46 prints from 40.93 to 40.85. Range 40.80 to 40.92. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$40.80$40.9010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.85%
Fund size
$426M
1Y return
+11.6%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
4
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$40.90
52W range
low $36.35high $40.96

The ETF.net GDEC Grade

C

42/ 100

Rank 35 of 61 in S&P 500 Buffer 15%⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for GDEC. Scores out of 100: Cost 13, Risk 48, Mission not scored, Tradability 75, Holdings 61, Durability 69. Strongest: Tradability (75). Weakest: Cost (13). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 42 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 13
    Category rank49/61 · 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 48
    Category rank37/57 · mid-pack

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    AScore 75
    Category rank7/61 · top 11%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    BScore 61
    Category rank13/32 · top 41%

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    BScore 69
    Category rank24/61 · top 39%

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

Our read on GDEC

ETF.net Research

CThe December door into First Trust's moderate-buffer lineup: 15% of downside on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust absorbed over a one-year outcome period, in exchange for an upside cap reset each December.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks returns matching the price return of the stated S&P 500 ETF, subject to a 12.08% upside cap and protection against the first 15% of losses during the specified outcome period.

Why people hold it

  1. 01Absorbs the first 15% of a decline in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust over each outcome period, the middle setting between shallow and deep buffers.
  2. 02The clock resets every December, and sibling funds run the same design in other months, so a ladder can be built without picking one start date.
  3. 03The reference asset is plain large-cap US equity, not a niche index. All the shaping happens in the options overlay wrapped around it.

Worth knowing

  1. 01Fees run 0.85% a year against a 0.79% median for buffer peers, and the laddered BUFF charges 0.10%. Cost is the main gap in this group.
  2. 02Upside stops at a cap set fresh each December, and the fund follows price return, so S&P 500 dividends stay outside the deal.
  3. 03Thinly traded next to the category's largest buffer funds, which puts more weight on limit orders and avoiding the open and close.

GDEC Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:45 PM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
4
Top-10 weight
103%
Largest holding
2026-12-18 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 6.83102.3%

Sectors

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001—2026-12-18 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 6.83102.30%5,772$434M1
002—2026-12-18 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust P 680.610.68%5,772$3M1
003—US Dollar0.48%2,037,297$2M394

Showing 1–3 of 3 holdings

GDEC Performance

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

GDEC$11,159
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. GDEC $11,159. 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 GDEC. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodGDEC
Year to date+8.2%
1 month+1.0%
3 months+3.0%
1 year+11.6%
3 yearsFund is under 3 years old—per year
5 yearsFund is under 5 years old—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 GDEC
YearReturn barGDEC
2026 YTD+8.2%
2025+12.1%
2024+11.5%
2023+0.5%

History from Dec 18, 2023

GDEC in the news

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

GDEC Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

GDEC Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
5.4%
Annualised · 32 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.
1.27
vs 3-month T-bills · 32 months 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.
−10.6%
33 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.
0.42
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.

GDEC Cost

Expense ratio0.85%
  • The middle half of S&P 500 Buffer 15% funds
  • Median 0.79%

35 of the 50 S&P 500 Buffer 15% funds charge less.

GDEC costs $85.00 a year on $10,000. The median S&P 500 Buffer 15% fund costs $79.00.