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GMAY

GradeCChicago Board Options Exchange

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

Buffered · First Trust · Inception 2023-05-19

$44.02−0.09 (−0.19%)

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

History starts May 22, 2023.
Intraday session: down, 54 prints from 44.11 to 44.02. Range 43.98 to 44.13. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$44.00$44.05$44.1010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.85%
Fund size
$520M
1Y return
+9.1%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
4
Volume · 30D
0.1M sh
NAV per share
$44.14
52W range
low $40.21high $44.99

The ETF.net GMAY Grade

C

46/ 100

Rank 25 of 61 in S&P 500 Buffer 15%⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for GMAY. Scores out of 100: Cost 13, Risk 48, Mission not scored, Tradability 91, Holdings 66, Durability 77. Strongest: Tradability (91). Weakest: Cost (13). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 46 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 rank55/61 · 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 rank41/57 · mid-pack

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    AScore 91
    Category rank1/61 · top 2%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    BScore 66
    Category rank6/32 · top 19%

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    AScore 77
    Category rank14/61 · top 23%

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

Our read on GMAY

ETF.net Research

CFirst Trust runs a buffer fund for every month of the calendar, and GMAY holds the May slot: a 15% cushion on SPY's price return over a one-year outcome period, paid for with a cap on the upside set when the period begins.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks returns corresponding to the price return of the State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust, subject to an upside cap and protection against the first 15% of losses during the stated outcome period.

Why people hold it

  1. 01The deal is spelled out in the fund's own documents: protection against the first 15% of losses on SPY's price return, plus a stated cap, across a defined one-year outcome period.ftportfolios.com
  2. 02May is just one rung. GJAN through GDEC run the same 15% structure on a rolling monthly schedule, so start dates can be staggered instead of hostage to one entry point.
  3. 03The reference asset is the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust itself. Plain large-cap US equity price return, no custom index or factor tilt to decode.
  4. 04One of the easier funds in its buffer peer group to get in and out of, with a mid-sized asset base standing behind it.

Worth knowing

  1. 01At 0.85%, it sits above the 0.79% median for its buffer cohort. Downside protection is a purchased feature, and the sticker shows it.
  2. 02The cap works both ways: big SPY years get trimmed. And the 15% buffer is measured from the start of the outcome period to its end, not day by day in between.
  3. 03Not an income vehicle. The options package is built to shape the payoff, not to pay out along the way.

GMAY Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:45 PM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
4
Top-10 weight
103%
Largest holding
2027-05-21 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 7.4198.8%

Sectors

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001—2027-05-21 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 7.4198.83%6,792$510M1
002—2027-05-21 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust P 739.193.17%6,792$16M1
003—US Dollar0.84%4,358,741$4M394

Showing 1–3 of 3 holdings

GMAY Performance

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

GMAY$10,908
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. GMAY $10,908. 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 GMAY. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodGMAY
Year to date+6.8%
1 month+0.8%
3 months+2.6%
1 year+9.1%
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 GMAY
YearReturn barGMAY
2026 YTD+6.8%
2025+11.9%
2024+12.1%
2023+8.9%

History from May 22, 2023

GMAY in the news

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

GMAY Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

GMAY Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
6.1%
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.
1.09
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.
−11.7%
40 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.

GMAY 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.

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