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XSEP

GradeCChicago Board Options Exchange

FT Vest U.S. Equity Enhance & Moderate Buffer ETF - September

Accelerated Upside · First Trust · Inception 2022-09-21

$45.33−0.06 (−0.12%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 2:05 PM EDT

History starts Sep 22, 2022.
Intraday session: down, 44 prints from 45.38 to 45.33. Range 45.25 to 45.41. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$45.25$45.30$45.35$45.4010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.85%
Fund size
$137M
1Y return
+9.3%
Yield · Last 12 months
—
Holdings
5
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$45.41
52W range
low $41.13high $45.47

The ETF.net XSEP Grade

C

48/ 100

Rank 5 of 7 in S&P 500 Accelerated, 15% Buffer⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for XSEP. Scores out of 100: Cost 39, Risk 45, Mission 91, Tradability 61, Holdings 54, Durability 71. Strongest: Mission (91). Weakest: Cost (39). Leans toward Mission.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 48 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.
    DScore 39
    Category rank7/7 · bottom quartile

  • Mission

    How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.
    AScore 91
    Category rank1/1 · bottom quartile

  • Risk

    How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.
    CScore 45
    Category rank4/6 · mid-pack

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    BScore 61
    Category rank4/7 · mid-pack

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    CScore 54
    Category rank5/5 · bottom quartile

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    AScore 71
    Category rank3/7 · top 43%

Graded as of Sep 22, 2026

Our read on XSEP

ETF.net Research

CMost buffer ETFs trade away upside for protection. XSEP doubles it: about 2x the price move of the S&P 500 ETF it references, up to a yearly cap, with the first 15% of losses absorbed.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks about twice the positive price return of the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, subject to a 9.58% upside cap, while protecting the first 15% of losses during the September 22, 2025–September 18, 2026 outcome period.

Why people hold it

  1. 01The "enhance" is literal: the fund aims for roughly 2x any positive price move in the S&P 500 ETF it references, up to a cap set when each September period starts.ftportfolios.com
  2. 02Downside first: it absorbs the reference ETF's first 15% of losses, before fees, across the one-year outcome period.sec.gov
  3. 03A 1940 Act ETF built on FLEX options rather than a bank-issued note, so no issuer credit risk, and you can trade it any market day.sec.gov
  4. 04One of twelve monthly-dated siblings in First Trust's Enhance & Moderate lineup, so a fresh cap and a reset 15% buffer arrive every September.ftportfolios.com

Worth knowing

  1. 01The doubled upside is paid for with a ceiling: above the cap you stop participating. Cap and buffer are calibrated for holders of the full September-to-September period.sec.gov
  2. 02It follows price return only, so the S&P 500's dividends sit outside the math.sec.gov
  3. 03The 0.85% expense ratio prices above the median of its buffer-ETF peer group, and the fund is thinly traded, so limit orders earn their keep.

XSEP Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:46 PM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
5
Top-10 weight
113%
Largest holding
2027-09-17 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 7.6997.9%

Sectors

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 1.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001—2027-09-17 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 7.6997.87%1,795$134M1
002—2027-09-17 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 761.698.78%1,795$12M1
003—2027-09-17 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust P 761.775.05%1,795$7M1
004—US Dollar1.19%1,622,319$2M394

Showing 1–4 of 4 holdings

XSEP Performance

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

XSEP$10,926
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. XSEP $10,926. 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 XSEP. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodXSEP
Year to date+7.2%
1 month+0.9%
3 months+2.5%
1 year+9.3%
3 years+10.1%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 XSEP
YearReturn barXSEP
2026 YTD+7.2%
2025+8.9%
2024+8.4%
2023+16.1%
2022+2.8%

History from Sep 22, 2022

XSEP in the news

XSEP Dividends

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

No distributions in the last 12 months.

XSEP Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
4.8%
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.
0.97
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.
−9.2%
48 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.
0.35
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.

XSEP Cost

Expense ratio0.85%
  • The middle half of S&P 500 Accelerated, 15% Buffer funds
  • Median 0.85%

1 of the 7 S&P 500 Accelerated, 15% Buffer funds charge less.

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