FT Vest Laddered Buffer ETF
First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII · 1 share class
Fund classification
Classified from what the fund holds · as of 2026 Q2
FT Vest Laddered Buffer ETF is an actively managed U.S. equity ETF.
- Asset class
- Equity
- Region
- United States
- Management
- Actively managed
- Fund type
- ETF
- Features
- Defined outcome · Fund of funds
Fund profile
As filed in the prospectus · 2025 Q4
The investment objective of the FT Vest Laddered Buffer ETF (the Fund ) is to seek to provide investors with capital appreciation.
The fund invests in a laddered portfolio of twelve underlying buffer ETFs, each tracking the S&P 500 through FLEX Options with rolling one-year outcome periods that reset annually. Each underlying ETF provides a buffer against the first 10% of losses and caps upside gains, though these protections apply only within each one-year period and reset at new price levels each year. The laddered structure means the fund holds underlying ETFs at different stages of their outcome cycles, intended to provide continuous downside protection and upside participation as buffers and caps refresh throughout the year. Because the fund may hold underlying ETF shares outside their outcome period start and end dates, it may fail to receive full buffer protection or realize the stated upside cap, and returns can diverge materially from the S&P 500 over time. Sub-adviser Vest Financial LLC makes day-to-day investment decisions.
| Share class | Expense ratio |
|---|---|
| BUFR | 0.95% |
Portfolio turnover 1.00% · as of 2025 Q4
Allocation
Asset groups · long / short shown separately, never netted · 2026 Q2
| Derivatives | 91.02% |
| Stocks | 8.34% |
| Cash & short-term | 0.71% |
Look-through blends 11 underlying funds; 8.336% of NAV was not looked through and stays direct-classified. The blend is as of 2025Q4, one or more quarters before the direct holdings (2026Q2).
Latest quarter
What changed since the fund's previous filing
Return profile
Total return as filed — price change plus distributions reinvested · trailing figures to Apr 2026
May 2026 has been filed since the trailing figures were struck, so it is not in the table above or the curve — every figure here shares one cut-off, which is what makes them comparable with other funds.
Holdings
By % of NAV · equity positions carry filed share counts · every resolvable issuer links to its company page
| Ticker | Issuer | %NAV | Reported price | Value | Shares |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII | 8.37% | $56.48 | $804.98M | 14.3M |
| — | First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII | 8.34% | $52.31 | $802.56M | 15.3M |
| — | First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII | 8.34% | $55.19 | $802.54M | 14.5M |
| — | First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII | 8.34% | $46.80 | $801.95M | 17.1M |
| — | First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII | 8.33% | $58.40 | $801.70M | 13.7M |
| — | First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII | 8.33% | $54.48 | $801.70M | 14.7M |
| — | First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII | 8.33% | $61.08 | $801.55M | 13.1M |
| — | First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII | 8.33% | $55.00 | $801.04M | 14.6M |
| — | First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII | 8.32% | $56.23 | $800.05M | 14.2M |
| — | First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII | 8.31% | $52.27 | $799.78M | 15.3M |
Reported price is the fund's own reported value divided by its own reported shares at 2026-05-31 — not a live quote, and not what the fund paid.
Top 10 positions are 83.35% of net assets, top 25 100.01%, across 2 issuers.
See more of this fund's book
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