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FT Vest Buffered Allocation Growth ETF (BUFG)
  • 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 Buffered Allocation Growth ETF (the "Fund") is to seek to provide investors with capital appreciation. The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in a portfolio of exchange-traded funds ("ETFs") that seek to provide investors with returns (before fees and expenses) based on the price return of the SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust ("SPY"), up to a predetermined cap, while providing a defined buffer against losses of SPY over a defined one-year period (the "Underlying ETFs"). Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest substantially all of its assets in Underlying ETFs. The Fund and each Underlying ETF are advised by First Trust Advisors L.P. ("First Trust" or the "Advisor") and sub-advised by Vest Financial LLC ("Vest" or the "Sub-Advisor"). PDR Services, LLC ("PDR") serves as SPY's sponsor. The investment objective of SPY is to seek to provide investment results that, before expenses, correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P 500® Index. Unlike the Underlying ETFs, the Fund itself does not pursue a defined outcome strategy. The buffer is only provided by the Underlying ETFs and the Fund itself does not provide any stated buffer against losses. The Fund will likely not receive the full benefit of the Underlying ETF buffers and could have limited upside potential. The Fund's returns may be limited to the caps of the Underlying ETFs.
There can be no assurance that the Fund's investment objectives will be achieved.
Fund Overview
TickerBUFG
Fund TypeTarget Outcome Strategies®
Investment AdvisorFirst Trust Advisors L.P.
Investor Servicing AgentBank of New York Mellon Corp
Portfolio Manager/Sub-AdvisorVest Financial, LLC
CUSIP33740U778
ISINUS33740U7789
Intraday NAVBUFGIV
Fiscal Year-End08/31
ExchangeCboe BZX
Inception10/26/2021
Inception Price$20.01
Inception NAV$20.01
Fees And Expenses
Management Fees0.20%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses0.85%
Total Expense Ratio1.05%
As of Date 1/2/2024
Current Fund Data (as of 12/6/2024)
Closing NAV1$24.87
Closing Market Price2$24.84
Bid/Ask Midpoint$24.85
Bid/Ask Discount0.08%
30-Day Median Bid/Ask Spread30.20%
Total Net Assets$254,959,185
Outstanding Shares10,250,002
Daily Volume33,412
Average 30-Day Daily Volume33,077
Closing Market Price 52-Week High/Low$24.89 / $20.83
Closing NAV 52-Week High/Low$24.87 / $20.85
Number of Holdings (excluding cash)7
NAV History (Since Inception)
Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Top Holdings (as of 12/6/2024)*
Holding Percent
FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - June 14.95%
FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - July 14.82%
FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - September 14.69%
FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - August 14.57%
FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - May 14.20%
FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - March 13.86%
FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - February 12.82%

* 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 139 42 52 54
Days Traded at Discount 111 19 11 10
BUFG Underlying ETFs and Target Outcome Values Relative To SPY Price (as of 12/9/2024 at 10:59 AM ET)
Target Outcome PeriodFFEBFMARFMAYFJUNFJULFAUGFSEP
Remaining Outcome Period (Days)74102158193221249284
Period Start Date2/20/243/18/245/20/246/24/247/22/248/19/249/23/24
Period End Date2/21/253/21/255/16/256/20/257/18/258/15/259/19/25
Initial Cap % (Net)15.96%16.27%15.07%15.08%14.84%13.70%12.85%
Remaining Cap % (Net)1.78%2.87%4.73%6.52%7.16%7.41%8.71%
Remaining Buffer % (Net)12.76%11.93%11.53%10.83%10.91%11.26%11.04%
Downside Before Buffer % (Net)-12.99%-12.29%-9.76%-8.22%-7.48%-6.34%-4.49%
Reference Asset Return to Realize the Cap-3.62%-1.37%1.37%4.26%4.9%4.88%6.72%
Reference Asset to Buffer End-25.75%-24.21%-21.29%-19.06%-18.39%-17.6%-15.53%
Unrealized Payoff Option (Net)1.78%2.87%3.3%2.13%2.11%2.38%1.82%
SPY Value at Buffer Start Level$499.51$509.83$529.45$544.51$548.99$554.31$568.25

The chart above shows the cap and buffer levels for BUFG’s underlying ETF holdings. The values shown are based on each fund’s initial cap and buffer relative to the price level of SPY at the start of each fund’s current Target Outcome Period.

To understand the fund’s strategy and risks, it is important to understand the strategies and risks of the underlying ETFs. BUFG does not provide any buffer against losses and does not seek to directly experience the full stated caps and buffers of the underlying ETFs. The Fund simply seeks to provide diversified exposure to all the underlying ETFs in a single investment. The upside cap for a fund is determined at the inception date of the Target Outcome Period in each calendar year. The cap and buffer levels may only be realized for an investor who holds shares for the outcome periods shown. The buffer is only provided by the underlying ETFs.

The underlying ETFs seek to provide a buffer against the losses between 0% and -10% (before fees, expenses, and taxes) of SPY losses.
Market Data by Xignite

BUFG Summary Analysis of Underlying Target Outcome ETFs (as of 12/9/2024 at 10:59 AM ET)
Percentages are based on the number of funds in the range. Cap and Buffer values are Net of fund fees and expenses.
Days to Reset - The number of days remaining until the end of the Outcome Period for the Underlying ETFs.
Remaining Cap - Based on an Underlying ETF's value, the best potential return if held to end of its Outcome Period, assuming the Underlying ETF's Reference Asset meets or exceeds the Reference Asset Cap Value.
Remaining Buffer - The current amount of an Underlying ETF's stated Buffer remaining based on its current value.
Downside Before Buffer - Based on an Underlying ETF’s value, the amount of the Underlying ETF’s loss that can be incurred prior to its buffer taking effect.
Market Data by Xignite
Hypothetical Growth of $10,000 Since Inception (as of 12/6/2024) *


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) 4.12% 16.28% 19.88% 7.69% N/A N/A 7.15%
After Tax Held 4.12% 16.28% 19.88% 7.69% N/A N/A 7.15%
After Tax Sold 2.44% 9.64% 11.77% 5.96% N/A N/A 5.54%
Market Price 4.21% 16.39% 19.94% 7.69% N/A N/A 7.15%
Index Performance **
S&P 500® Index 7.15% 28.07% 33.89% 11.44% N/A N/A 11.06%
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) 3.88% 13.00% 22.42% N/A N/A N/A 6.53%
After Tax Held 3.88% 13.00% 22.42% N/A N/A N/A 6.53%
After Tax Sold 2.30% 7.70% 13.27% N/A N/A N/A 5.04%
Market Price 3.84% 13.10% 22.23% N/A N/A N/A 6.53%
Index Performance **
S&P 500® Index 5.89% 22.08% 36.35% N/A N/A N/A 9.91%
3-Year Statistics (as of 11/29/2024)
  Standard Deviation Alpha Beta Sharpe Ratio Correlation
BUFG 12.12% -1.51 0.69 0.37 0.99
S&P 500® Index 17.41% --- 1.00 0.50 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.

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 10/26/2021

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 invests in underlying ETFs that use FLEX Options to employ a "target outcome strategy" ("Underlying ETFs"), does not itself pursue a defined outcome strategy. The buffer is only provided by the Underlying ETFs and the fund itself does not provide any stated buffer against losses. There can be no guarantee that the Underlying ETFs will be successful in their strategy to buffer against losses. A fund may lose its entire investment in an Underlying ETF. To the extent a fund acquires shares of its Underlying ETFs in connection with creations and during reallocation, the fund typically will not acquire Underlying ETF shares on the first day of the target outcome period defined in the Underlying Fund's prospectus ("Target Outcome Period"). Likewise, to the extend a fund disposes of shares of an Underlying ETF in connection with redemptions and during reallocation, any such disposition typically will not incur on the last day of a Target Outcome Period.

A new Underlying ETF cap is established at the beginning of each Target Outcome Period and is dependent on prevailing market conditions. As a result, a 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.

If the Underlying ETF's reference security or index experiences gains during a Target Outcome Period, an Underlying ETF will not participate in those gains beyond the cap. In the event a fund purchases shares of an Underlying ETF after the first day of a Target Outcome Period and the Underlying ETF has risen in value to a level near the cap, there may be little or no ability for the fund to experience an investment gain on its shares; however, the fund will remain vulnerable to downside risk.

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.

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.

Certain of the Underlying ETFs seek to provide "enhanced" returns of any positive returns of the reference asset over a Target Outcome Period, subject to a predetermined upside cap. There can be no guarantee that such Underlying ETFs will be successful in their strategy to provide enhanced returns. In addition, the Underlying ETFs that seek to provide investment outcomes over an entire Target Outcome Period do not seek to provide investment outcomes on a daily or other short-term basis and therefore on any given day it is very unlikely that when the reference asset share price increases in value, an Underlying ETF's share price will increase at the same rate as the enhanced returns sought by the Underlying ETF.

The Underlying ETFs invest in FLEX Options. Trading FLEX Options involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities. An Underlying 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 may be a constituent of one or more indices or models which could greatly affect a fund's trading activity, size and volatility.

Information technology companies are subject to certain risks, including rapidly changing technologies, short product life cycles, fierce competition, aggressive pricing and reduced profit margins, loss of patent, copyright and trademark protections, cyclical market patterns, evolving industry standards and regulation and frequent new product introductions.

Large capitalization companies may grow at a slower rate than the overall market.

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.

When a fund sells Underlying ETFs in the open market, the resulting gain or loss may have a negative impact on fund returns. In addition, a fund may effect a portion of its creations and redemptions for cash rather than in-kind, which may be less tax efficient. In addition, cash transactions may involve higher brokerage fees and taxes than in-kind transactions.

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 prices of options are volatile and the effective use of options depends on a fund's ability to terminate option positions at times deemed desirable to do so. There is no assurance that a fund will be able to effect closing transactions at any particular time or at an acceptable price.

High portfolio turnover may result in higher levels of transaction costs and may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders.

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.

If a fund's Underlying ETF holds FLEX Options that reference SPY, the fund 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 SPY invests.

If a fund's Underlying ETF holds FLEX Options that reference SPY, each Underlying ETF has exposure to the equity securities markets. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market.

An Underlying ETF's investment strategy is designed to deliver returns if shares are bought on the first day that the Underlying ETF 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.

The fund's investment in shares of the Underlying ETFs subjects it to the risks of owning the securities held by the Underlying ETF, as well as the same structural risks faced by an investor purchasing shares of the fund.

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 invests in Underlying ETFs may provide returns that are lower than the returns that an investor could achieve by investing in one or more Underlying ETFs alone and the fund bears its proportionate share of each ETF's expenses, subjecting fund shareholders to duplicative expenses. A fund of Underlying ETFs does not itself pursue a defined outcome strategy and does not provide any buffer against Underlying ETF losses.

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).

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

The fund and the underlying ETFs are not issued, sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust, PDR, Standard & Poor's® (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 underlying ETFs. The Corporations make no representations or warranties, express or implied, regarding the advisability of investing in the fund or the underlying ETFs or results to be obtained by the fund or the underlying ETFs, shareholders or any other person or entity from use of the SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust. The Corporations have no liability in connection with the management, administration, marketing or trading of the fund or the underlying ETFs.

CUSIP identifiers have been provided by CUSIP Global Services, managed on behalf of the American Bankers Association by FactSet Research Systems Inc. and are not for use or dissemination in a manner that would serve as a substitute for any CUSIP service. The CUSIP Database, ©2024 CUSIP Global Services. "CUSIP" is a registered trademark of the American Bankers Association.

Not FDIC Insured • Not Bank Guaranteed • May Lose Value
 
The information presented is not intended to constitute an investment recommendation for, or advice to, any specific person. By providing this information, First Trust is not undertaking to give advice in any fiduciary capacity within the meaning of ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code or any other regulatory framework. Financial professionals are responsible for evaluating investment risks independently and for exercising independent judgment in determining whether investments are appropriate for their clients.
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