FT Vest Laddered Buffer ETF
Actively managed U.S. stock ETF
As of its 2026 Q2 report, FT Vest Laddered Buffer ETF held 13 positions with $9.62B in net assets. Its ten largest holdings made up 83.3% of the fund. The BUFR share class costs 0.95% a year. Over the 12 months to May 2026, BUFR returned 18.6%, with dividends reinvested. In 2026 Q3 it added no new positions and exited none.
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.
What you own
| Company | Weight | Value | Shares | Reported price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII | 8.37% | $804.98M | 14.3M | $56.48 |
First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII | 8.34% | $802.56M | 15.3M | $52.31 |
First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII | 8.34% | $802.54M | 14.5M | $55.19 |
First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII | 8.34% | $801.95M | 17.1M | $46.80 |
First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII | 8.33% | $801.70M | 13.7M | $58.40 |
First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII | 8.33% | $801.70M | 14.7M | $54.48 |
First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII | 8.33% | $801.55M | 13.1M | $61.08 |
First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII | 8.33% | $801.04M | 14.6M | $55.00 |
First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII | 8.32% | $800.05M | 14.2M | $56.23 |
First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII | 8.31% | $799.78M | 15.3M | $52.27 |
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.
All 13 holdings, with the share counts as filed, open with a free account.
What the fund is made of
Percentages are of fund net assets. Rounding, liabilities and short positions can make totals differ from 100%.
| 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).
How it has done
BUFR share class · total returns with dividends reinvested
Volatility over the last 12 months: 6.69%. Past returns are a record, not a forecast.
Jun 2026 and Jul 2026 and Aug 2026 have been filed since the trailing figures were struck, so they are not in the table above or the curve — every figure here shares one cut-off, which is what makes them comparable with other funds.
Fees & fund details
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
- Expense ratio, by class
- 0.95%· BUFR 0.95%
- Portfolio turnover
- 1.00% a year · as of 2025 Q4
Turnover is how much of the portfolio was replaced in a year.
Classified from what the fund holds, not from its name · 2026 Q2. The summary is a paraphrase of the prospectus; the objective is verbatim.
What changed this quarter
Positions that entered or left the fund since its previous filing. Positions that were only resized are not listed.
0 new
0 exited
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