DFEB vs DOCT: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

FT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - February

DFEBCCboe

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

DOCTCCboe

Overlap

0.5%by weight

Expense ratio

DFEB0.85%DOCT0.85%

Avg volume · 30D

DOCT 1.2×the volume

DFEB13.6KDOCT16.3K

5Y return · a year

DFEB +0.1pt

DFEB+8.1%DOCT+8.0%

DFEB vs DOCT Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+47.8%DFEB+46.9%DOCT

Expense ratio: DFEB 0.85%; DOCT 0.85%
Fund size: DFEB $456M; DOCT $422M
1Y total return: DFEB +10.2%, better; DOCT +9.3%
Holdings: DFEB 3; DOCT 3
Avg volume (30D): DFEB 13.6K sh; DOCT 16.3K sh, better
NAV per share: DFEB $51.65; DOCT $48.11
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for DFEB, DOCT, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	DFEB	DOCT
Cost30% weight	D31	D31
Mission25% weight	Not scored	Not scored
Risk15% weight	B66Higher	C51
Tradability15% weight	A77Higher	B61
Holdings10% weight	B63Higher	C52
Durability5% weight	A74Higher	B65

Rank among S&P 500 Deep Buffer 25-30% funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. DFEB and DOCT are both graded against the same 19 S&P 500 Deep Buffer 25-30% funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

S&P 500 Deep Buffer 25-30%⁠

Category · 19 funds

See all 19 ›

DFEB ranks 4th and DOCT 14th of 19 funds in the S&P 500 Deep Buffer 25-30% Category.

Rank 1BPSCXPacer Swan SOS Conservative (January) ETFScore 63
Rank 1BUFEBInnovator U.S. Equity Ultra Buffer ETFScore 63
Rank 3BPSCQPacer Swan SOS Conservative (October) ETFScore 60
Rank 4CDFEBFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - FebruaryScore 54
Rank 4CPSCWPacer Swan SOS Conservative (April) ETFScore 54
Rank 12CDSEPFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - SeptemberScore 46
Rank 14CDOCTFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - OctoberScore 45
Rank 15CDDECFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - DecemberScore 44

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

DFEBCFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - February

DOCTCFT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - October

In short

DFEB A buffer with a deductible. DFEB lets the first 5% of a drop in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust land on you, then covers the next 25 points, in exchange for an upside cap that resets every February.

DOCT First Trust runs a dozen near-identical deep-buffer funds, one resetting each month. DOCT is the October slot: a 25-point cushion against losses, a cap on the upside, and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust as its reference.

Stated mandate

DFEB The Fund seeks to match the price return of the State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust before fees and expenses, subject to an 11.87% upside cap, while protecting against Underlying ETF losses from -5% through -30% during the February 23, 2026–February 19, 2027 outcome period.

DOCT The Fund seeks to match the price return of the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, subject to a predetermined upside cap, while providing downside protection over the stated October outcome period.

Why people hold it

DFEB Deep coverage where it hurts: the fund targets protection against reference-ETF losses from -5% through -30%, a 25-point band, over each one-year outcome period.
One of twelve monthly vintages on the same reference ETF (DMAR, DJUN, DDEC and the rest), so entries can be laddered across the calendar instead of hinging on one start date.
Running since 2020, it has rolled through several full outcome periods, and it sits in the upper half of its deep-buffer peer group.
At 0.85%, the fee sits right at the median for deep-buffer funds tracking this kind of strategy.

DOCT Deep, not shallow: the outcome period carries 25 percentage points of downside buffer against the reference fund, versus the 9-to-15 point cushions typical of standard buffer products.
One rung on a 12-month ladder. Same recipe resets in every calendar month (DMAR, DJUN, DDEC and the rest), so an October start date is a choice, not a constraint.
Fee sits at 0.85%, exactly the median for deep-buffer funds, and the fund has been running resets since its 2020 launch at a multi-hundred-million size.

Worth knowing

DFEB The trade for depth: you absorb the first 5% of losses yourself, and gains stop at a cap that is reset each February from option pricing at the time.
It tracks price return only, so the reference ETF's dividends are not passed along, and the fund has not been paying distributions.
Cheaper deep-buffer options exist (PSCX and PSCW run 0.49%), and DFEB trades lightly, so limit orders are the sane way in and out.

DOCT The reference is price return, so S&P 500 dividends do not flow through, and the fund itself has not been paying a distribution.
Protection is paid for with a ceiling. A new cap is set each October from market pricing at the reset, and buffer and cap only fully apply if you hold the whole period.
Cheaper deep-buffer plumbing exists: the Pacer Swan SOS Conservative funds (PSCX, PSCW, PSCQ) charge 0.49%. DOCT also trades thinly, so spreads deserve a look.

Full DFEB profile⁠

Full DOCT profile⁠

DFEB vs DOCT Holdings

How DFEB and DOCT differ

Overlap by weight

0.5%

Shared holdings make up 1.1% of DOCT and 0.5% of DFEB.

Level by level

Holdings0 in both0.5%
Sector11 Sectors98.0%
Countryby domicile100%

Sector

Sector weights in DFEB and DOCT, widest gap first
Sector	More in DFEBMore in DOCT	DFEB	DOCT
Communication	DFEB +1.0 points	9.9%	8.9%
Technology	DFEB +0.8 points	40.1%	39.3%
Consumer Discretionary	DOCT +0.4 points	8.7%	9.1%
Financials	DOCT +0.4 points	11.3%	11.7%
Health Care	DOCT +0.4 points	9.4%	9.8%
Energy	DOCT +0.3 points	3.4%	3.7%
Consumer Staples	DOCT +0.3 points	4.4%	4.7%
Industrials	DFEB +0.1 points	7.6%	7.5%
Utilities	DOCT +0.1 points	1.9%	2.0%
Materials	DFEB +0.1 points	1.6%	1.5%
Real Estate	Same weight	1.7%	1.7%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in DFEB and DOCT, widest gap first
Country	More in DFEBMore in DOCT	DFEB	DOCT
United States	Same weight	99.5%	99.5%
Switzerland	Same weight	0.3%	0.3%
China	Same weight	0.1%	0.1%
Mexico	Same weight	0.1%	0.1%
Ireland	Same weight	0.0%	0.0%
United Kingdom	Same weight	0.0%	0.0%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

DFEB103.2%
DOCT102.8%

Securities held

DFEB2
DOCT2

Asset class

DFEB: Multi-Asset
DOCT: Multi-Asset

Holdings

Only in DFEB2
In both0
Only in DOCT2

Only in DFEB

2 securities, 100% of DFEB by weight

2027-02-19 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 6.88101.76%
2027-02-19 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust P 654.960.87%

Only in DOCT

2 securities, 100% of DOCT by weight

2027-10-15 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 7.5697.57%
2027-10-15 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust P 725.094.12%

Weight gaps

DFEB and DOCT share no securities.

All 4 DFEB holdings⁠All 4 DOCT holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

DFEB vs DOCT Cost

Same expense ratio

$16,199

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

DFEB 0.85%
$16,199
DOCT 0.85%
$16,199

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

DFEB 0.85%
DOCT 0.85%

Year by year

Year	DFEB	DOCT
10	$1,508	$1,508
20	$5,706	$5,706
30	$16,199	$16,199

Expense ratio

0.85%DFEB
0.85%DOCT

DFEB0.85%DOCT0.85%

0.30%0.85%

Middle half of S&P 500 Deep Buffer 25-30% funds
Median 0.85%

DFEB 8th cheapest of 19 funds

DOCT 8th cheapest of 19 funds

DFEB vs DOCT Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Payout (12M): DFEB None; DOCT None

Distribution history

DFEBAll DFEB payments⁠

No distribution history available.

DOCTAll DOCT payments⁠

No distribution history available.

DFEB vs DOCT Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

DFEB
DOCT

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: DFEB 6.1%DOCT 5.9%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: DFEB 1.57, betterDOCT 1.23
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: DFEB −10.0%DOCT −9.9%, better
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: DFEB 0.50DOCT 0.47; Market = 1

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