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First Trust made investors more money ($34.2B) and had more funds that made money (85%).
The past year, all their funds · Data as of Oct 30, 2026
Tale of the tape 1Y · lower fee wins
Every dot is one buffered fund, placed at its 1-year return. Right of the line = made money. The ringed dot is the middle fund. Small sample: fewer than 3 funds on a side.
| BOX SCORE · BUFFERED | Simplify | First Trust |
|---|---|---|
| Funds in the category | 1 | 105 |
| Made money (W–L) | 1–0 | 94–0 |
| Win % | 100% | 100% |
| Money made | $29M | $4.9B |
| Typical return | +10.2% | +9.8% |
| Launches · 2026 | 0 | 10 |
| Assets | $312M | $49.5B |
| Fee per $100 | $0.53 | $0.60 |
| Fund | Name | Assets | 1Y |
|---|---|---|---|
| HEQT | Simplify Hedged Equity ETF | $312M | +10.2% ✓ |
| Fund | Name | Assets | 1Y |
|---|---|---|---|
| BUFR | FT Vest Laddered Buffer ETF | $11.0B | +11.7% ✓ |
| BUFD | FT Vest Laddered Deep Buffer ETF | $2.2B | +9.6% ✓ |
| BUFQ | FT Vest Laddered Nasdaq Buffer ETF | $1.7B | +12.8% ✓ |
| FJAN | FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - January | $1.5B | +12.4% ✓ |
| FMAY | FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - May | $1.5B | +9.5% ✓ |
| FAUG | FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - August | $1.5B | +10.4% ✓ |
Pairs that hold the same market. Fee = per $100 a year. Returns within 0.1 points are a tie; 5-year returns are per year.
Squares, left to right: fee · 1 year · 5 years, coloured by who won. Most gaps come from different index rules, not fees.
The past year. Win % counts funds, not dollars; money made is estimated from each fund’s assets and return. Categories with fewer than 3 funds on a side are flagged. Not advice.