New active ETF from First Trust on Xetra: active buffer strategy on S&P 500 Index with August 2024/2025 as new target outcome period

As of today, a new actively managed exchange-traded fund from First Trust is tradable on Xetra and via the trading venue Börse Frankfurt.

The First Trust Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer UCITS ETF – August pursues an actively managed investment strategy with the aim of tracking the performance of the S&P 500 Index up to a fixed upside cap. At the same time, the fund aims to hedge against losses (buffer) for the first 15 per cent price declines at the end of the defined target outcome period of one calendar year. The investment manager invests the entire assets in FLEX options, which are put as well as call options.

The buffer strategy begins and ends in August of each year and is then rebalanced by the fund investing in a new package of FLEX options. The cap is calculated on the first reference date depending on market conditions, while the buffer always remains unchanged at 15 per cent. The current cap and buffer details are available on the First Trust website. 

The product offering in Deutsche Börse’s XTF segment currently comprises a total of 2,190 ETFs. With this selection and an average monthly trading volume of around €15 billion, Xetra is the leading trading venue for ETFs in Europe.