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QMAR

GradeCChicago Board Options Exchange

FT Vest Nasdaq-100 Buffer ETF - March

Buffered · First Trust · Inception 2021-03-19 · SEC filings

$38.38−0.07 (−0.18%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 3:12 PM EDT

Intraday session: down, 48 prints from 38.45 to 38.38. Range 38.34 to 38.45. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$38.35$38.40$38.42$38.4510 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.90%
Fund size
$603M
1Y return
+19.5%
Yield · Last 12 months
Holdings
4
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$38.39
52W range
low $31.91high $38.49

The ETF.net QMAR Grade

C

46/ 100

Rank 7 of 12 in Nasdaq-100 Buffer 9-12%

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for QMAR. Scores out of 100: Cost 15, Risk 67, Mission not scored, Tradability 70, Holdings 53, Durability 84. Strongest: Durability (84). Weakest: Cost (15). 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 15
    Category rank11/12 · 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.
    BScore 67
    Category rank2/12 · top 17%
  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    AScore 70
    Category rank4/12 · top 33%
  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    CScore 53
    Category rank4/6 · mid-pack
  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    AScore 84
    Category rank3/12 · top 25%

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

Our read on QMAR

ETF.net Research

CA one-year seatbelt on the Nasdaq-100. QMAR absorbs the first 10% of losses in the Nasdaq-100 tracker it references and hands back the upside above a cap reset every March, one of four quarterly entry points in First Trust's buffer lineup.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks to match the price return of the Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 before fees and expenses, subject to a 20.86% upside cap, while buffering the first 10% of losses during the March 23, 2026–March 19, 2027 outcome period.

Why people hold it

  1. 01The buffer is the whole product: the first 10% of the reference fund's decline is absorbed, before fees, across a defined one-year outcome period that resets each March.ftportfolios.com
  2. 02It references the Invesco QQQ Trust itself rather than a paper index, so the payoff is pinned to the same Nasdaq-100 vehicle most investors already hold.sec.gov
  3. 03Running since 2021, it has now cycled through several complete outcome periods, and its March, June, September and December siblings let you stagger start dates instead of betting on one.

Worth knowing

  1. 01At 0.90% a year it sits at the expensive end of the Nasdaq-100 buffer shelf: QBUF charges 0.79%, PQAP and PQJA 0.50%, QTR 0.25%.
  2. 02The stated cap and buffer apply to buyers who hold a full outcome period. Come in mid-period and you inherit whatever cushion and upside room are left, not the headline terms.sec.gov
  3. 03Volume is light next to the biggest buffer funds, which can mean wider spreads, and the options structure isn't built to throw off income.

QMAR Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:43 PM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
4
Top-10 weight
110%
Largest holding
2027-03-19 Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 C 5.81108.2%

Sectors

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
0012027-03-19 Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 C 5.81108.16%9,073$648M1
0022027-03-19 Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 P 582.051.15%9,073$7M1
003US Dollar0.63%3,779,511$4M394

Showing 1–3 of 3 holdings

QMAR Performance

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

QMAR$11,954
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. QMAR $11,954. SPY $11,723. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$9,337$10,742$12,147Sep 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 QMAR. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodQMAR
Year to date+16.5%
1 month+2.2%
3 months+3.5%
1 year+19.5%
3 years+17.0%per year
5 years+11.8%per year
10 yearsFund is under 10 years oldper 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 QMAR
YearReturn barQMAR
2026 YTD+16.5%
2025+10.9%
2024+16.1%
2023+35.5%
2022−16.6%
2021+12.3%

History from Mar 22, 2021

QMAR in the news

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

QMAR Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

QMAR Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
8.4%
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.
1.26
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.
−19.8%
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.
0.55
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.

QMAR 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.

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