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SQMX

GradeCChicago Board Options Exchange

FT Vest U.S. Equity Quarterly Max Buffer ETF

Buffered · First Trust · Inception 2024-12-20

$34.88−0.04 (−0.10%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 2:50 PM EDT

History starts Jan 10, 2025.
Intraday session: down, 11 prints from 34.91 to 34.88. Range 34.82 to 34.92. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$34.84$34.9210 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.85%
Fund size
$58M
1Y return
+7.3%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
4
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$34.89
52W range
low $32.40high $34.95

The ETF.net SQMX Grade

C

46/ 100

Rank 11 of 20 in S&P 500 Max Buffer⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for SQMX. Scores out of 100: Cost 21, Risk 45, Mission not scored, Tradability 90, Holdings 48, Durability 80. Strongest: Tradability (90). Weakest: Cost (21). 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 21
    Category rank20/20 · 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 rank14/20 · mid-pack

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    AScore 90
    Category rank2/20 · top 10%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    CScore 48
    Category rank3/4 · bottom quartile

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    AScore 80
    Category rank4/20 · top 20%

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

Our read on SQMX

ETF.net Research

CMost buffer ETFs fix the cushion and let the cap float. SQMX flips it: each quarter it buys the deepest cushion the options market will sell against S&P 500 declines, then takes whatever upside is left, with a 3% cap floor by design.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks returns matching the price return of the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust up to a preset cap while protecting the first 12.62% of losses over an approximately three-month target period.

Why people hold it

  1. 01Buffer first, upside second. Each roughly three-month period targets the maximum available cushion against declines, and the design sets a minimum 3% upside cap.businesswire.com
  2. 02Resets four times a year, so a fresh cushion and cap get struck every quarter rather than once every twelve months.businesswire.com
  3. 03The reference is the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust itself, built with FLEX options, and the payoff keys off its price return: plain large-cap America, dividends excluded.businesswire.com
  4. 04Sits inside First Trust's Target Outcome range, one of the largest defined-outcome ETF families, with Vest Financial running the options sleeve as sub-advisor.businesswire.com

Worth knowing

  1. 01Runs 0.85% a year against a roughly 0.79% median for S&P 500 buffer funds, and the buffer is quoted before fees, so expenses come out of the cushioned result. DHDG and MARM charge the same.businesswire.com
  2. 02Buy after day one of a period and your cushion and cap differ from the posted terms; the full stated buffer may not be available at that entry point.businesswire.com
  3. 03A 2024 launch that trades thinly next to the biggest buffer names, so the bid-ask spread can matter as much as the fee, and it has not been paying distributions.

SQMX Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:49 PM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
4
Top-10 weight
102%
Largest holding
2026-12-18 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 7.6298.4%
The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001—2026-12-18 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 7.6298.38%753$56M1
002—2026-12-18 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust P 761.692.64%753$2M1
003—US Dollar1.09%623,850$624K394

Showing 1–3 of 3 holdings

SQMX Performance

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

SQMX$10,730
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. SQMX $10,730. 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 SQMX. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodSQMX
Year to date+4.6%
1 month+0.6%
3 months+2.3%
1 year+7.3%
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 SQMX
YearReturn barSQMX
2026 YTD+4.6%
2025+8.8%

History from Jan 10, 2025

SQMX in the news

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

SQMX Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

SQMX Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
2.9%
Annualised · 19 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.
1.07
vs 3-month T-bills · 19 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.
−7.0%
20 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.
0.20
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.

SQMX Cost

Expense ratio0.85%
  • The middle half of S&P 500 Max Buffer funds
  • Median 0.52%

11 of the 20 S&P 500 Max Buffer funds charge less.

SQMX costs $85.00 a year on $10,000. The median S&P 500 Max Buffer fund costs $51.50.