Skip to content
etf.net

GMAR

GradeCChicago Board Options Exchange

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

Buffered · First Trust · Inception 2023-03-17 · SEC filings

$45.24−0.06 (−0.13%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 2:25 PM EDT

History starts Mar 20, 2023.
Intraday session: down, 41 prints from 45.30 to 45.24. Range 45.23 to 45.28. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$45.26$45.2810 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.85%
Fund size
$397M
1Y return
+13.1%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
4
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$45.29
52W range
low $39.91high $45.34

The ETF.net GMAR Grade

C

41/ 100

Rank 37 of 61 in S&P 500 Buffer 15%⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for GMAR. Scores out of 100: Cost 13, Risk 70, Mission not scored, Tradability 46, Holdings 62, Durability 74. Strongest: Durability (74). Weakest: Cost (13). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 41 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 rank54/61 · 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.
    AScore 70
    Category rank7/57 · top 12%

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    CScore 46
    Category rank33/61 · mid-pack

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    BScore 62
    Category rank11/32 · top 34%

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    AScore 74
    Category rank17/61 · top 28%

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

Our read on GMAR

ETF.net Research

CA March-dated buffer fund: it absorbs the first 15% of an SPY price drop over each one-year outcome period, and in exchange your upside stops at a cap First Trust resets every March.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks to match the price return of the State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust up to a 14.10% cap while protecting against the first 15% of losses during the specified outcome period.

Why people hold it

  1. 01The cushion is 15%, one of the deeper standard buffers out there: the fund is built to eat the first 15% of the reference ETF's price decline over the outcome period.ftportfolios.com
  2. 02March is just one door. Twelve siblings (GJAN through GDEC) run the same 15% recipe on different start months, so entry dates can be laddered rather than guessed.ftportfolios.com
  3. 03The rules are printed before you commit: buffer size, reference asset (SPY price return) and the exact outcome start and end dates all come from First Trust's own documents.ftportfolios.com

Worth knowing

  1. 01The 0.85% fee runs above the middle of the buffer peer group, and a laddered alternative like BUFF charges 0.10% for a broadly similar job.
  2. 02It tracks SPY's price return, so dividends sit outside the deal, and there are no fund distributions either. Buy or sell mid-period and you get only part of the buffer and cap.
  3. 03Volume is thin next to the headline buffer funds, so the bid-ask spread is worth a look before trading.

GMAR Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:43 PM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
4
Top-10 weight
108%
Largest holding
2027-03-19 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 6.51106.6%

Sectors

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001—2027-03-19 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 6.51106.60%5,619$422M1
002—2027-03-19 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust P 648.591.08%5,619$4M1
003—US Dollar0.66%2,602,730$3M394

Showing 1–3 of 3 holdings

GMAR Performance

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

GMAR$11,308
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. GMAR $11,308. 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 GMAR. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodGMAR
Year to date+10.6%
1 month+0.8%
3 months+2.7%
1 year+13.1%
3 years+12.5%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 GMAR
YearReturn barGMAR
2026 YTD+10.6%
2025+9.3%
2024+12.2%
2023+11.9%

History from Mar 20, 2023

GMAR in the news

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

GMAR Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

GMAR Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
5.1%
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.
1.35
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.
−9.1%
42 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.
0.35
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.

GMAR 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.

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