FT Vest Gold Strategy Quarterly Buffer ETF (BGLD)
  • 2024 Estimated December Distributions
    Certain First Trust Exchange-Traded Commodity Funds are expected to pay an ordinary distribution in December. For a list of the exchange-traded commodity funds expected to pay a distribution, please click here. Final determination of the source and tax status of all distributions paid in the current year are to be made after year-end and could differ from the expectations noted above.
  • 2024 Estimated Capital Gain Distributions
    Certain First Trust First Trust Exchange-Traded Funds are expected to pay a long-term capital gain distribution in December. For a list of exchange-traded funds expected to pay a long-term capital gain distribution, please click here. Also, certain First Trust Exchange-Traded Funds are expected to pay short-term capital gain distributions in December. For a list of exchange-traded funds expected to pay a short-term capital gain distribution, please click here. Final determination of the source and tax status of all distributions paid in the current year are to be made after year-end and could differ from the expectations noted above.
Investment Objective/Strategy - The investment objective of the FT Vest Gold Strategy Quarterly Buffer ETF (the "Fund") is to seek to provide investors with returns (before fees and expenses) that match the price return of the SPDR Gold Trust (the "Underlying ETF"), up to a predetermined upside cap of 8.64% while providing a buffer (before fees and expenses) against Underlying ETF losses between -5% and -15% over the period from December 2, 2024 to February 28, 2025.
There can be no assurance that the Fund's investment objectives will be achieved.
Fund Overview
TickerBGLD
Fund TypeTarget Outcome Strategies®
Investment AdvisorFirst Trust Advisors L.P.
Investor Servicing AgentBank of New York Mellon Corp
Portfolio Manager/Sub-AdvisorVest Financial, LLC
CUSIP33733E849
ISINUS33733E8497
Intraday NAVBGLDIV
Fiscal Year-End12/31
ExchangeCboe BZX
Inception1/20/2021
Inception Price$19.99
Inception NAV$19.99
Total Expense Ratio*0.91%
* As of 5/1/2024
Current Fund Data (as of 12/6/2024)
Closing NAV1$18.42
Closing Market Price2$18.43
Bid/Ask Midpoint$18.42
Bid/Ask Premium0.00%
30-Day Median Bid/Ask Spread30.60%
Total Net Assets$45,134,695
Outstanding Shares2,450,002
Daily Volume19,220
Average 30-Day Daily Volume51,192
Closing Market Price 52-Week High/Low$23.45 / $18.22
Closing NAV 52-Week High/Low$23.44 / $18.18
Number of Holdings (excluding cash)4
NAV History (Since Inception)
Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Top Holdings (as of 12/6/2024)*
Holding Percent
U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 02/27/2025 94.08%
2025-02-28 SPDR Gold Trust C 233.31 5.85%
2025-02-28 SPDR Gold Trust P 208.75 -0.09%
2025-02-28 SPDR Gold Trust C 266.81 -0.52%

* Excluding cash.  Holdings are subject to change.

Bid/Ask Premium/Discount (as of 12/6/2024)
  2023 Q1 2024 Q2 2024 Q3 2024
Days Traded at Premium 189 46 48 54
Days Traded at Discount 61 15 15 10
Outcome Period Performance
Outcome Period Values
Series
Quarterly
Reference Asset
SPDR Gold Trust
Outcome Period
12/2/2024 - 2/28/2025
Fund Cap (Net)
8.64% (8.41%)
Buffer (Net)
10.00% (9.77%)
Starting Fund Value
$18.54
Fund Cap Value
$20.10
 
Starting Reference Asset Value
$245.59
Reference Asset Cap Value
$266.81
Buffer Start % / Reference Asset Value
-5.00% / $233.31
Buffer End % / Reference Asset Value
-15.00% / $208.75
Current Values
(as of 12/9/2024 at 1:57 PM ET)
Remaining Outcome Period
81 days
Fund Value/Return
$18.56 / 0.09%
Reference Asset Value/Return
$245.88 / 0.12%
 
Remaining Cap (Net)
8.51% (8.31%)
Reference Asset Return to Realize the Cap
8.51%
 
Remaining Buffer (Net)
9.99% (9.78%)
Downside Before Buffer (Net)
-5.11% (-5.32%)
Reference Asset to Buffer End
-15.10%
 
Unrealized Option Payoff (Net)
0.00% (-0.20%)
Definitions
Net - After fees and expenses, excluding brokerage commissions, trading fees, taxes and extraordinary expenses not included in the Fund's management fee.
Reference Asset - The underlying ETF which the fund provides exposure to, and which the FLEX Options prices are based on.
Target Outcome Period - The period between when the FLEX Options were purchased and when they will expire.
Fund Cap - Maximum possible return that the fund can provide at the end of the Target Outcome Period.
Buffer - The amount of downside protection the fund seeks to provide if held for the full Target Outcome Period.
Starting Fund Value - The Net Asset Value (NAV) of the Fund at the start of the Target Outcome Period
Fund Cap Value - The maximum value of the Fund at the end of the Target Outcome Period if the fund realizes its maximum cap.
Starting Reference Asset Value - The value of the Reference Asset at the start of the Target Outcome Period.
Reference Asset Cap Value - The value of the Reference Asset at the end of the Target Outcome Period if the fund realizes its maximum cap.
Buffer Start / Buffer End - The percent shown represents the range of losses on the price return of the Reference Asset, before fees and expenses, that the buffer seeks to protect against. The values represent the reference asset values that trigger the start and end of the Buffer range.
Remaining Outcome Period - The number of days remaining until the end of the Outcome Period.
Fund Value/Return - The value and the price return of the Fund since the start of the Outcome Period.
Reference Asset/Value Return - The value and the price return of the Reference Asset since the start of the Outcome Period.
Remaining Cap - Based on the Fund's value, the best potential return if held to the end of the Outcome Period, assuming the Reference Asset meets or exceeds the Reference Asset Cap Value.
Reference Asset Return to Realize the Cap - The return of the Reference Asset currently needed in order for the Fund to realize the return of the Remaining Cap.
Remaining Buffer - The current amount of the Fund's stated Buffer remaining based on the Fund's current value.
Downside Before Buffer - Based on the Fund value, the amount of the Fund loss that can be incurred prior to the buffer taking effect.
Reference Asset to Buffer End - The loss of the Reference Asset from its current value to the Buffer End Reference Asset Value.
Unrealized Option Payoff - Based on the Fund's value, the potential price return of the Fund, before fees and expenses, if held to the end of the Target Outcome period assuming the current Reference Asset Value remains unchanged. This is due to the intrinsic value of the underlying options positions that create the Fund's Buffer range.
Please Note - The Fund values shown are based on the Fund’s bid/ask midpoint as of the date and time stated.
The outcome values may only be realized for an investor who holds shares for the outcome period shown.
Performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results and current performance may be higher or lower than performance quoted. Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate and shares when sold or redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.
Market Data by Xignite
Month End Performance (as of 11/29/2024)
  3 Month YTD 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10 Year Since
Fund
Inception4
Fund Performance *
Net Asset Value (NAV) 6.10% 23.02% 24.45% 11.36% N/A N/A 6.74%
After Tax Held 6.10% 23.02% 19.55% 9.82% N/A N/A 5.59%
After Tax Sold 3.61% 13.63% 13.89% 8.01% N/A N/A 4.61%
Market Price 5.71% 22.95% 24.38% 11.32% N/A N/A 6.74%
Index Performance **
LBMA Gold Price 5.48% 27.55% 30.24% 13.68% N/A N/A 9.67%
S&P 500® Index 7.15% 28.07% 33.89% 11.44% N/A N/A 14.05%
Quarter End Performance (as of 9/30/2024)
  3 Month YTD 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10 Year Since
Fund
Inception4
Fund Performance *
Net Asset Value (NAV) 11.38% 20.15% 32.21% 10.27% N/A N/A 6.38%
After Tax Held 11.38% 20.15% 27.00% 8.75% N/A N/A 5.18%
After Tax Sold 6.74% 11.93% 18.51% 7.17% N/A N/A 4.31%
Market Price 11.10% 20.19% 32.04% 10.32% N/A N/A 6.40%
Index Performance **
LBMA Gold Price 12.83% 26.54% 40.60% 14.70% N/A N/A 9.89%
S&P 500® Index 5.89% 22.08% 36.35% 11.91% N/A N/A 13.25%
3-Year Statistics (as of 11/29/2024)
  Standard Deviation Alpha Beta Sharpe Ratio Correlation
BGLD 9.46% 0.78 0.68 0.81 0.94
LBMA Gold Price 12.97% --- 1.00 0.78 1.00
Standard Deviation is a measure of price variability (risk). Alpha is an indication of how much an investment outperforms or underperforms on a risk-adjusted basis relative to its benchmark.Beta is a measure of price variability relative to the market. Sharpe Ratio is a measure of excess reward per unit of volatility. Correlation is a measure of the similarity of performance.

*Performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results and current performance may be higher or lower than performance quoted. Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate and shares when sold or redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.

After Tax Held returns represent return after taxes on distributions. Assumes shares have not been sold. After Tax Sold returns represent the return after taxes on distributions and the sale of fund shares. Returns do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times. Market Price returns are determined by using the midpoint of the national best bid offer price ("NBBO") as of the time that the fund's NAV is calculated. Returns are average annualized total returns, except those for periods of less than one year, which are cumulative.

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

**Performance information for each listed index is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent actual fund performance. Indexes do not charge management fees or brokerage expenses, and no such fees or expenses were deducted from the performance shown. Indexes are unmanaged and an investor cannot invest directly in an index.

LBMA Gold Price - The Benchmark is the global benchmark price for unallocated gold delivered in London.

S&P 500® Index - The Index is an unmanaged index of 500 companies used to measure large-cap U.S. stock market performance.

Footnotes
1 The NAV represents the fund's net assets (assets less liabilities) divided by the fund's outstanding shares.
2 Fund shares are purchased and sold on an exchange at their market price rather than net asset value (NAV), which may cause the shares to trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
3 The median bid-ask spread is calculated by identifying the national best bid and national best offer ("NBBO") for the fund as of the end of each 10 second interval during each trading day of the last 30 calendar days and dividing the difference between each such bid and offer by the midpoint of the NBBO. The median of those values is identified and that value is expressed as a percentage rounded to the nearest hundredth.
4 Inception Date is 1/20/2021

You should consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses carefully before investing. You can download a prospectus or summary prospectus, or contact First Trust Portfolios L.P. at 1-800-621-1675 to request a prospectus or summary prospectus which contains this and other information about the fund. The prospectus or summary prospectus should be read carefully before investing.

Risk Considerations

You could lose money by investing in a fund. An investment in a fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed. There can be no assurance that a fund's objective(s) will be achieved. Investors buying or selling shares on the secondary market may incur customary brokerage commissions. Please refer to each fund's prospectus and Statement of Additional Information for additional details on a fund's risks. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.

There can be no assurance that an active trading market for fund shares will develop or be maintained.

A fund that uses FLEX Options to employ a "target outcome strategy" has characteristics unlike many other traditional investment products and may not be appropriate for all investors. There can be no guarantee that a target outcome fund will be successful in its strategy to buffer against losses. A shareholder may lose their entire investment. In the event an investor purchases shares after the first day of the target outcome period defined in the fund's prospectus ("Target Outcome Period") or sells shares prior to the end of the Target Outcome Period, the buffer that a fund seeks to provide may not be available.

A new cap is established at the beginning of each Target Outcome Period and is dependent on prevailing market conditions. As a result, the cap may rise or fall from one Target Outcome Period to the next and is unlikely to remain the same for consecutive Target Outcome Periods.

A target outcome fund will not participate in gains beyond the cap. In the event an investor purchases fund shares after the first day of a Target Outcome Period and the fund has risen in value to a level near the cap, there may be little or no ability for that investor to experience an investment gain on their fund shares; however, the investor will remain vulnerable to downside risk.

A fund that effects all or a portion of its creations and redemptions for cash rather than in-kind may be less tax-efficient.

Commodity prices can have significant volatility, and exposure to commodities can cause the value of a fund's shares to decline or fluctuate in a rapid and unpredictable manner.

A fund may be subject to the risk that a counterparty will not fulfill its obligations which may result in significant financial loss to a fund.

An issuer or other obligated party of a debt security may be unable or unwilling to make dividend, interest and/or principal payments when due and the value of a security may decline as a result.

Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of the fund in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions. As a means to fight inflation, the Federal Reserve and certain foreign central banks have raised interest rates; however, the Federal Reserve has recently lowered interest rates and may continue to do so. Recent and potential future bank failures could result in disruption to the broader banking industry or markets generally and reduce confidence in financial institutions and the economy as a whole, which may also heighten market volatility and reduce liquidity. Ongoing armed conflicts between Russia and Ukraine in Europe and among Israel, Hamas and other militant groups in the Middle East, have caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting from those hostilities have and could continue to have a significant impact on certain fund investments as well as fund performance and liquidity. The COVID-19 global pandemic, or any future public health crisis, and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects.

A fund is susceptible to operational risks through breaches in cyber security. Such events could cause a fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss.

Investments in debt securities subject the holder to the credit risk of the issuer and the value of debt securities will generally change inversely with changes in interest rates. In addition, debt securities generally do not trade on a securities exchange making them less liquid and more difficult to value.

The use of derivatives instruments involves different and possibly greater risks than investing directly in securities including counterparty risk, valuation risk, volatility risk, and liquidity risk. Further, losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying asset, index or rate may be magnified by certain features of the derivatives.

Trading FLEX Options involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities. A fund may experience substantial downside from specific FLEX Option positions and certain FLEX Option positions may expire worthless. There can be no guarantee that a liquid secondary trading market will exist for the FLEX Options and FLEX options may be less liquid than exchange-traded options.

FLEX Options are subject to correlation risk and a FLEX Option's value may be highly volatile, and may fluctuate substantially during a short period of time. FLEX Options will be exercisable at the strike price only on their expiration date. Prior to the expiration date, the value of the FLEX Options will be determined based upon market quotations or other recognized pricing methods. In the absence of readily available market quotations for fund holdings, a fund's advisor may determine the fair value of the holding, which requires the advisor's judgement and is subject to the risk of mispricing or improper valuation.

A fund's income may decline when interest rates fall or if there are defaults in its portfolio.

A fund may be a constituent of one or more indices or models which could greatly affect a fund's trading activity, size and volatility.

As inflation increases, the present value of a fund's assets and distributions may decline.

Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of the debt securities in a fund's portfolio will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk is generally lower for shorter term debt securities and higher for longer-term debt securities.

The portfolio managers of an actively managed portfolio will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not have the desired result.

Market risk is the risk that a particular security, or shares of a fund in general may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as general economic conditions, political events, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of a fund could decline in value or underperform other investments as a result. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious disease or other public health issues, recessions, natural disasters or other events could have significant negative impact on a fund.

A fund classified as "non-diversified" may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers. As a result, a fund may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence affecting one or more of these issuers, experience increased volatility and be highly concentrated in certain issuers.

A fund and a fund's advisor may seek to reduce various operational risks through controls and procedures, but it is not possible to completely protect against such risks. The fund also relies on third parties for a range of services, including custody, and any delay or failure related to those services may affect the fund's ability to meet its objective.

The market price of a fund's shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the fund's net asset value ("NAV") as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on the exchange, and a fund's investment advisor cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their NAV.

A fund with significant exposure to a single asset class, country, region, industry, or sector may be more affected by an adverse economic or political development than a broadly diversified fund.

Subsidiary investment risk applies to a fund that invests in certain securities through a wholly-owned subsidiary of the fund that is organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands ("Subsidiary"). Changes in the laws of the U.S. and/or Cayman Islands could result in the inability of a fund to operate as intended. The Subsidiary is not registered under the 1940 Act and is not subject to all the investor protections of the 1940 Act. Thus, a fund that is as an investor in the Subsidiary will not have all the protections offered to investors in registered investment companies.

A target outcome fund's investment strategy is designed to deliver returns if shares are bought on the first day that the fund enters into the FLEX Options and are held until the FLEX Options expire at the end of the Target Outcome Period subject to the cap.

If a fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions were not available, a fund's taxable income would be subject to tax at the fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. Further, there may be other tax implications to a fund based on the type of investments in a fund.

Trading on an exchange may be halted due to market conditions or other reasons. There can be no assurance that a fund's requirements to maintain the exchange listing will continue to be met or be unchanged.

A fund that invests in FLEX Options that reference an ETF is subject to certain of the risks of owning shares of an ETF as well as the risks of the types of instruments in which the reference ETF invests.

An underlying ETF with investments that are concentrated in a single asset class, country, region, industry, or sector may be more affected by adverse events than the market as a whole.

A fund that has exposure to gold through its investments (through a subsidiary) in FLEX Options on a reference ETF is subject to gold risk. The price of gold bullion can be significantly affected by international monetary and political developments and generally may be more speculative. In addition, worldwide metal prices may fluctuate substantially over short periods of time, and as a result, a fund's share price may be more volatile than other types of investments. The underlying ETF does not insure its gold and a loss may be suffered for which no party is liable for damages.

Securities issued or guaranteed by federal agencies and U.S. government sponsored instrumentalities may or may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.

First Trust Advisors L.P. (FTA) is the adviser to the First Trust fund(s). FTA is an affiliate of First Trust Portfolios L.P., the distributor of the fund(s).

First Trust Advisors L.P. is registered as a commodity pool operator and commodity trading advisor and is also a member of the National Futures Association.

The Target Outcome registered trademarks are registered trademarks of Vest Financial LLC.

The fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDR® Gold Trust and WGTS, (together with their affiliates hereinafter referred to as the "Corporations"). The Corporations have not passed on the legality or suitability of, or the accuracy or adequacy of, descriptions and disclosures relating to the fund or the FLEX Options. The Corporations make no representations or warranties, express or implied, regarding the advisability of investing in the fund or the FLEX Options or results to be obtained by the fund or the FLEX Options, shareholders or any other person or entity from use of the Underlying ETF. The Corporations have no liability in connection with the management, administration, marketing or trading of the fund or the FLEX Options.

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Not FDIC Insured • Not Bank Guaranteed • May Lose Value