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QDEC

GradeCChicago Board Options Exchange

FT Vest Nasdaq-100 Buffer ETF - December

Buffered · First Trust · Inception 2020-12-18 · SEC filings

$36.82−0.06 (−0.16%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 2:20 PM EDT

Intraday session: down, 53 prints from 36.88 to 36.82. Range 36.77 to 36.91. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$36.80$36.85$36.9010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.90%
Fund size
$688M
1Y return
+18.6%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
4
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$36.81
52W range
low $30.51high $36.93

The ETF.net QDEC Grade

C

45/ 100

Rank 8 of 12 in Nasdaq-100 Buffer 9-12%⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for QDEC. Scores out of 100: Cost 15, Risk 45, Mission not scored, Tradability 89, Holdings 50, Durability 86. Strongest: Tradability (89). Weakest: Cost (15). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 45 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 15
    Category rank9/12 · 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 45
    Category rank8/12 · mid-pack

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    AScore 89
    Category rank1/12 · top 8%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    CScore 50
    Category rank5/6 · bottom quartile

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    AScore 86
    Category rank1/12 · top 8%

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

Our read on QDEC

ETF.net Research

CDecember's rung on First Trust's ladder of Nasdaq-100 buffer funds. It absorbs the first 10% of a decline over each one-year outcome period, in exchange for giving up gains above a cap that resets every December.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks to match the price return of the Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1, before fees and expenses, subject to an 18.22% upside cap and protection against the first 10% of losses during the stated outcome period.

Why people hold it

  1. 01The deal is written down in advance: first 10% of a Nasdaq-100 decline absorbed, upside capped, over a one-year outcome period that resets each December.ftportfolios.com
  2. 02One of several First Trust Nasdaq-100 buffers on staggered reset months (QMAR, QJUN, QSPT), so the start date is a choice rather than whatever month you showed up.
  3. 03Running since December 2020 with multiple complete outcome periods behind it, and a few hundred million dollars in assets. Not a launch-year experiment.

Worth knowing

  1. 01At 0.90% it sits above the buffer-cohort median, and cheaper Nasdaq-100 buffers exist: QBUF at 0.79%, PGIM's series at 0.50%, QTR at 0.25%.
  2. 02Thinly traded next to the category's biggest names, so the bid-ask spread is part of the cost, especially on larger orders.
  3. 03Buffer and cap apply before fees and run December to December. Buy mid-period and your own protection and ceiling differ from the stated terms.ftportfolios.com

QDEC Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:42 PM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
4
Top-10 weight
104%
Largest holding
2026-12-18 Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 C 6.16103.1%

Sectors

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001—2026-12-18 Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 C 6.16103.13%9,849$704M1
002—2026-12-18 Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 P 617.040.72%9,849$5M1
003—US Dollar0.45%3,088,171$3M394

Showing 1–3 of 3 holdings

QDEC Performance

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

QDEC$11,858
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. QDEC $11,858. SPY $11,723. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$9,345$10,695$12,045Sep 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 QDEC. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodQDEC
Year to date+13.5%
1 month+2.7%
3 months+3.8%
1 year+18.6%
3 years+17.8%per year
5 years+10.5%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 QDEC
YearReturn barQDEC
2026 YTD+13.5%
2025+18.1%
2024+16.4%
2023+29.3%
2022−22.3%
2021+17.2%
2020+1.4%

History from Dec 21, 2020

QDEC in the news

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

QDEC Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

QDEC Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
8.8%
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.
1.29
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.
−25.3%
Trough Oct 2022
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.
0.59
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.

QDEC Cost

Expense ratio0.90%
  • The middle half of Nasdaq-100 Buffer 9-12% funds
  • Median 0.79%

8 of the 12 Nasdaq-100 Buffer 9-12% funds charge less.

QDEC costs $90.00 a year on $10,000. The median Nasdaq-100 Buffer 9-12% fund costs $79.00.