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GOCT

GradeCChicago Board Options Exchange

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

Buffered · First Trust · Inception 2023-10-20

$42.69−0.05 (−0.11%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 2:44 PM EDT

History starts Oct 23, 2023.
Intraday session: down, 35 prints from 42.73 to 42.69. Range 42.65 to 42.73. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$42.64$42.7210 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.85%
Fund size
$254M
1Y return
+11.8%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
4
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$42.71
52W range
low $37.88high $42.78

The ETF.net GOCT Grade

C

41/ 100

Rank 39 of 61 in S&P 500 Buffer 15%⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for GOCT. Scores out of 100: Cost 13, Risk 53, Mission not scored, Tradability 69, Holdings 55, Durability 67. Strongest: Tradability (69). 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 rank57/61 · 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 53
    Category rank22/57 · top 39%

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    BScore 69
    Category rank12/61 · top 20%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    BScore 55
    Category rank18/32 · mid-pack

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    BScore 67
    Category rank26/61 · top 43%

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

Our read on GOCT

ETF.net Research

CThe October link in First Trust's moderate-buffer ladder: it follows the price moves of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust and absorbs the first 15% of losses over a one-year stretch, in exchange for a cap on gains that resets every October.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks to match the price return of the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, before fees and expenses, up to a 12.14% upside cap, while protecting the first 15% of losses during the October 20, 2025–October 16, 2026 outcome period.

Why people hold it

  1. 01The cushion is contractual, not a hope: the first 15% of the reference ETF's losses across the outcome period, paid for with a ceiling on upside.ftportfolios.com
  2. 02Twelve monthly siblings (GJAN through GDEC) run the same playbook on the same reference fund, so entry dates can be staggered instead of hinging on one October reset.
  3. 03Buffer depth and cap are written into the fund's documents ahead of each yearly period, so the payoff shape is defined by rules rather than a manager's judgment call.ftportfolios.com

Worth knowing

  1. 01At 0.85% a year it runs above several buffer peers, including POCT and PJUL at 0.79% and the laddered BUFF at 0.10%.
  2. 02It matches price return only, so the index's dividends sit outside the payoff, and the fund isn't built as an income payer.
  3. 03Shares trade thinly, and the buffer and cap apply in full only across a complete outcome period; buying partway through changes the math.

GOCT Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:46 PM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
4
Top-10 weight
103%
Largest holding
2026-10-16 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 6.66102.9%

Sectors

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001—2026-10-16 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 6.66102.86%3,454$261M1
002—US Dollar0.31%785,711$786K394
003—2026-10-16 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust P 664.410.08%3,454$212K1

Showing 1–3 of 3 holdings

GOCT Performance

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

GOCT$11,177
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. GOCT $11,177. 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 GOCT. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodGOCT
Year to date+8.8%
1 month+1.1%
3 months+3.1%
1 year+11.8%
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 GOCT
YearReturn barGOCT
2026 YTD+8.8%
2025+12.3%
2024+8.2%
2023+6.6%

History from Oct 23, 2023

GOCT in the news

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

GOCT Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

GOCT Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
5.9%
Annualised · 34 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.
1.29
vs 3-month T-bills · 34 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.
−10.5%
34 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.

GOCT 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.

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