First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust”) a leading exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) provider and asset manager, announced today that it has launched the FT Vest U.S. Equity Uncapped Accelerator ETF - October (Cboe: UXOC) and the FT Vest U.S. Equity Quarterly 2.5 to 15 Buffer ETF (Cboe: DHDG) (collectively, the “funds”). The funds are the latest additions to First Trust’s lineup of Target Outcome ETFs, which has over $25 billion in total net assets, a 92% increase over one year, and 84 funds as of 9/30/24.
“We’re excited to offer these two new categories of Target Outcome ETFs. We recognize that the objectives of every investor are a bit different, and we think both ETFs will be useful for financial professionals as they tailor their clients’ investment portfolios to meet those needs,” said Ryan Issakainen, CFA, Senior Vice President, ETF Strategist at First Trust.
About First Trust’s New Target Outcome ETF Strategies:
The FT Vest U.S. Equity Uncapped Accelerator ETF (UXOC) seeks to provide investors with the potential for a rate of return (before fees and expenses) that outperforms the positive price return of SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust (“SPY”), after the first 2.0% of positive price returns over the one-year Target Outcome Period. The fund includes a 2.0% Target Upside Deductible which is the minimum price return SPY must achieve for the fund to participate in positive returns. The fund will only experience gains if SPY’s price return increases above the Target Upside Deductible at the end of the Target Outcome Period.
“UXOC is a new addition to the Target Outcome ETF suite, complementing our existing lineup and providing yet another solution for financial professionals to express a market viewpoint. UXOC is designed for those seeking the potential for accelerated upside growth on SPY, without exposure to excessive levels of downside risk,” said Jeff Chang, President of Vest Financial LLC, sub-advisor to the fund. Unlike traditional leveraged products that amplify both upside and downside, UXOC offers a unique approach by mirroring the price return of SPY one-to-one on the downside. This structure allows for potential alpha generation during bull markets while avoiding the excessive risk associated with leveraged exposure in bear markets.
The FT Vest U.S. Equity Quarterly 2.5 to 15 Buffer ETF (DHDG) seeks to provide investors with returns (before fees and expenses) that match the price return of SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust (“SPY”), up to a predetermined upside cap while providing a buffer (before fees and expenses) against Underlying ETF losses between -2.5% and -15% over the 3-month Target Outcome Period. First Trust believes a buffer against a level of losses may help investors stay invested during volatile times.
“We’re continuously working with First Trust to expand the Buffer series to address a broad range of risk management needs. We’re pleased to introduce DHDG today for investors who want to take on slightly more downside risk on SPY (0 to -2.5%) than the traditional moderate buffer in exchange for the ability to participate in a higher level of potential upside gains,” said Jeff Chang, President of Vest Financial LLC, sub-advisor to the fund. The fund offers a way to gain access to outcome-based investing—specifically to buffer against a level of downside risk while allowing growth to a maximum cap— eliminating bank credit risk, in a convenient, flexible investment vehicle.
The funds are managed and sub-advised by Vest Financial LLC (“Vest”) using a “target outcome strategy” or pre-determined target investment outcome. Vest is the creator of Target Outcome Investments and manager of the longest running buffer strategy fund.
For more information about First Trust, please contact Ryan Issakainen at (630) 765-8689 or RIssakainen@FTAdvisors.com.
About First Trust
First Trust is a federally registered investment advisor and serves as the funds’ investment advisor. First Trust and its affiliate First Trust Portfolios L.P. (“FTP”), a FINRA registered broker-dealer, are privately held companies that provide a variety of investment services. First Trust has collective assets under management or supervision of approximately $245 billion as of September 30, 2024, through unit investment trusts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, mutual funds and separate managed accounts. First Trust is the supervisor of the First Trust unit investment trusts, while FTP is the sponsor. FTP is also a distributor of mutual fund shares and exchange-traded fund creation units. First Trust and FTP are based in Wheaton, Illinois. For more information, visit www.ftportfolios.com.
About Vest:
Vest is the creator of Target Outcome Investments®, which strive to buffer losses, manage volatility, amplify gains or provide consistent income to a diverse spectrum of investors. Today, Vest’s Target Outcome Strategies® are available in mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), unit investment trusts (UITs), collective investment trusts (CITs), variable insurance trusts (VITs) and customizable managed accounts/sub-advisory services. For more information about Vest, visit www.vestfin.com or contact Linda Werner at lwerner@ vestfin.com or 703-864-5483.
You should consider the funds’ investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses carefully before investing. Contact First Trust Portfolios L.P. at 1-800-621-1675 or visit www.ftportfolios.com to obtain a prospectus or summary prospectus which contains this and other information about the funds. The prospectus or summary prospectus should be read carefully before investing.
Risk Considerations
There can be no assurance that an active trading market for fund shares will develop or be maintained.
There can be no guarantee that the fund will be successful in its strategy to provide the Upside Rate of Return. The Upside Rate of Return will only be realized if the Underlying ETF increases in value above the Target Upside Deductible at the end of the Target Outcome Period. If the Underlying ETF increases above the Target Upside Deductible during the Target Outcome Period but fails to remain above the Target Upside Deductible at the end of the Target Outcome Period, the fund will not experience any positive returns. Because any positive returns will not commence until the Target Upside Deductible is achieved, the Upside Rate of Return that an investor may receive above the Target Upside Deductible may be less than an investment in a fund that does not have a Target Upside Deductible or Upside Rate of Return. In the event an investor purchases shares after the first day of the Target Outcome Period or sells shares prior to the end of the Target Outcome Period, the rate of return that the fund seeks to provide will likely not be available.
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.
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.
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 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.
Large inflows and outflows may impact a new fund's market exposure for limited periods of time.
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 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.
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, in any year, a fund which intends to qualify as a Registered Investment Company (RIC) under the applicable tax laws fails to do so, it would be taxed as an ordinary corporation.
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.
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 invests in FLEX Options that reference an ETF has exposure to the equity securities market. 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.
A new Upside Rate of Return is established at the beginning of each Target Outcome Period and is dependent on prevailing market conditions. As a result, the Upside Rate of Return may rise or fall from one Target Outcome Period to the next and is unlikely to remain the same for consecutive Target Outcome Periods.
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 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.
The Target Outcome registered trademarks are registered trademarks of Vest Financial LLC.
The funds are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust, PDR, or 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 funds or the FLEX Options. The Corporations make no representations or warranties, express or implied, regarding the advisability of investing in the funds or the FLEX Options or results to be obtained by the funds or the FLEX Options, 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 funds or the FLEX Options.
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Contacts
Ryan Issakainen
First Trust
(630) 765-8689
RIssakainen@FTAdvisors.com
