BUFR Alternatives & Similar ETFs

FT Vest Laddered Buffer ETF (BUFR) belongs to the Defined Outcome category. Below you'll find alternative ETFs from the same category, ranked by key criteria, plus funds that investors commonly compare with BUFR. Use the tables to find lower-cost options, better risk-adjusted returns, or a closer substitute for your current allocation.

Cheapest Alternatives to BUFR

BUFR charges 0.95% annually. There are 296 ETFs in the Defined Outcome category with lower expense ratios, going as low as 0.25%.

Symbol	Name	Expense Ratio	AUM	Inception
JANB	Aptus January Buffer ETF	0.25%	—	Oct 2025	BUFR vs JANB
JULB	Aptus July Buffer ETF	0.25%	—	Oct 2025	BUFR vs JULB
OCTB	Aptus October Buffer ETF	0.25%	—	Oct 2025	BUFR vs OCTB
APRB	Aptus April Buffer ETF	0.25%	—	Oct 2025	BUFR vs APRB
FBUF	Fidelity Dynamic Buffered Equity ETF	0.48%	—	Apr 2024	BUFR vs FBUF

Best Risk-Adjusted Alternatives to BUFR

BUFR has a PortfoliosLab risk / return rank of 87. There are 118 ETFs in the Defined Outcome category with higher risk-adjusted ranks, going as high as 99.

Symbol	Name	Risk / Return Rank	AUM	Inception
PMAP	PGIM S&P 500 Max Buffer ETF - April	99	—	Mar 2025	BUFR vs PMAP
CPSP	Calamos S&P 500 Structured Alt Protection ETF - Ap...	98	21.00M	Apr 2025	BUFR vs CPSP
MMAX	iShares Large Cap Max Buffer Mar ETF	98	—	Mar 2025	BUFR vs MMAX
ZAPR	Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - 1 Yr Apr...	98	—	Apr 2025	BUFR vs ZAPR
CPRA	Calamos Russell 2000 Structured Alt Protection ETF...	98	13.20M	Apr 2025	BUFR vs CPRA

Top Performing BUFR Alternatives (YTD)

BUFR is at 7.33% YTD. There are 75 ETFs in the Defined Outcome category with higher YTD returns, going as high as 16.35%.

Symbol	Name	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
NVDO	Leverage Shares 2x Capped Accelerated NVDA Monthly...	16.35%	—	Aug 2025	BUFR vs NVDO
QB	ProShares Nasdaq-100 Dynamic Daily Buffer ETF	13.84%	2.87M	Jun 2025	BUFR vs QB
KFEB	Innovator U.S. Small Cap Power Buffer ETF - Februa...	13.73%	—	Jan 2025	BUFR vs KFEB
KAPR	Innovator Russell 2000 Power Buffer ETF - April	13.09%	214.27M	Mar 2020	BUFR vs KAPR
BAPR	Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - April	11.91%	403.09M	Mar 2019	BUFR vs BAPR

Lowest Volatility Alternatives to BUFR

BUFR has 6.78% 1-year volatility. There are 170 ETFs in the Defined Outcome category with lower 1-year volatility, going as low as 1.18%.

Symbol	Name	Volatility 1Y	AUM	Inception
PMAP	PGIM S&P 500 Max Buffer ETF - April	1.18%	—	Mar 2025	BUFR vs PMAP
APXM	FT Vest U.S. Equity Max Buffer ETF - April	1.33%	—	Apr 2025	BUFR vs APXM
CPSP	Calamos S&P 500 Structured Alt Protection ETF - Ap...	1.40%	21.00M	Apr 2025	BUFR vs CPSP
PMMY	PGIM S&P 500 Max Buffer ETF - May	1.40%	—	Apr 2025	BUFR vs PMMY
MMAX	iShares Large Cap Max Buffer Mar ETF	1.44%	—	Mar 2025	BUFR vs MMAX

Lowest Drawdown Alternatives to BUFR

BUFR has a 1-year max drawdown of -4.61%. There are 146 ETFs in the Defined Outcome category with shallower 1-year drawdowns, going as shallow as -0.35%.

Symbol	Name	Max Drawdown 1Y	AUM	Inception
PMAP	PGIM S&P 500 Max Buffer ETF - April	-0.35%	—	Mar 2025	BUFR vs PMAP
CPSP	Calamos S&P 500 Structured Alt Protection ETF - Ap...	-0.37%	21.00M	Apr 2025	BUFR vs CPSP
ZAPR	Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - 1 Yr Apr...	-0.40%	—	Apr 2025	BUFR vs ZAPR
MMAX	iShares Large Cap Max Buffer Mar ETF	-0.46%	—	Mar 2025	BUFR vs MMAX
CPSM	Calamos S&P 500 Structured Alt Protection ETF - Ma...	-0.49%	56.60M	May 2024	BUFR vs CPSM

Other ETFs from First Trust

The 10 most viewed First Trust ETFs shown here include CIBR, GRID, AIRR and span 16 categories. AUM among these funds goes as high as $25B.

Symbol	Name	Category	Risk / Return Rank	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
CIBR	First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF	Cybersecurity, Technology Equities	39	28.86%	14.31B	Jul 2015	BUFR vs CIBR
GRID	First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastru...	Infrastructure Equities, Alternative Energy Equities, Energy Equities	49	17.75%	11.67B	Nov 2009	BUFR vs GRID
AIRR	First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ET...	Building & Construction	54	19.12%	10.18B	Mar 2014	BUFR vs AIRR
NFTY	First Trust India NIFTY 50 Equal Weight ETF	India Equities, Equal Weight, Asia Pacific Equities	8	-5.91%	118.19M	Feb 2012	BUFR vs NFTY
FDL	First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fun...	Large Cap Value Equities, Dividend	92	18.16%	7.77B	Mar 2006	BUFR vs FDL
IGLD	FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF	Gold, Derivative Income, Precious Metals	25	-6.56%	514.13M	Mar 2021	BUFR vs IGLD
FTXL	First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF	Semiconductors, Technology Equities	91	67.20%	1.27B	Sep 2016	BUFR vs FTXL
TDIV	First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund	Technology Equities, Dividend	43	14.88%	4.18B	Aug 2012	BUFR vs TDIV
QCLN	First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index F...	Alternative Energy Equities, Energy Equities	39	10.48%	586.61M	Feb 2007	BUFR vs QCLN
RDVY	First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF	Dividend, Large Cap Blend Equities	85	17.25%	24.89B	Jan 2014	BUFR vs RDVY

Often Compared With BUFR

Investors most often compare BUFR with BUFF, BUFD, JHEQX. These 20 comparison targets span 9 categories, based on PortfoliosLab usage data.

Symbol	Name	Category	Risk / Return Rank	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
BUFF	Innovator Laddered Allocation Power Buffer ETF	Defined Outcome	89	6.26%	923.55M	Oct 2016	BUFR vs BUFF
BUFD	FT Vest Laddered Deep Buffer ETF	Defined Outcome	89	5.83%	1.97B	Jan 2021	BUFR vs BUFD
JHEQX	JPMorgan Hedged Equity Fund Class I	Equity Hedged	16	-1.20%	—	Dec 2013	BUFR vs JHEQX
SFLR	Innovator Equity Managed Floor ETF	Options Trading	50	4.20%	2.11B	Nov 2022	BUFR vs SFLR
FAPR	FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - April	Defined Outcome	92	5.72%	1.27B	Apr 2021	BUFR vs FAPR
BUFQ	FT Vest Laddered Nasdaq Buffer ETF	Nasdaq-100, Options Trading	75	7.59%	1.51B	Jun 2022	BUFR vs BUFQ
FFEB	FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - February	Defined Outcome	86	8.35%	1.39B	Feb 2020	BUFR vs FFEB
FAUG	FT Cboe Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - August	Defined Outcome	85	7.82%	1.19B	Nov 2019	BUFR vs FAUG
FMAR	FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - March	Defined Outcome	97	11.00%	1.14B	Mar 2021	BUFR vs FMAR
FJAN	FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - January	Defined Outcome	82	7.25%	1.43B	Jan 2021	BUFR vs FJAN
BUFG	FT Cboe Vest Buffered Allocation Growth ETF	Options Trading	77	7.09%	326.67M	Oct 2021	BUFR vs BUFG
FJUN	FT Cboe Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - June	Defined Outcome	81	5.31%	1.36B	Jun 2020	BUFR vs FJUN
FDEC	FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - December	Defined Outcome	85	7.14%	1.33B	Dec 2020	BUFR vs FDEC
PJAN	Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - January	Defined Outcome	84	6.02%	1.44B	Jan 2019	BUFR vs PJAN
BFEB	Innovator S&P 500 Buffer ETF - February	Options Trading, S&P 500	83	8.84%	253.94M	Jan 2020	BUFR vs BFEB
SPY	State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF	S&P 500	67	10.13%	789.06B	Jan 1993	BUFR vs SPY
PNOV	Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - November	Defined Outcome	78	6.87%	883.03M	Nov 2019	BUFR vs PNOV
JAVA	JPMorgan Active Value ETF	Large Cap Value Equities	87	14.35%	7.00B	Oct 2021	BUFR vs JAVA
GMOM	Cambria Global Momentum ETF	Momentum, Tactical Allocation	74	10.11%	70.67M	Nov 2014	BUFR vs GMOM
ACIO	Aptus Collared Income Opportunity ETF	Diversified Portfolio	45	5.38%	2.38B	Jul 2019	BUFR vs ACIO

Compare BUFR with Any Fund or Stock

Compare BUFR with any ETF, mutual fund, or stock using PortfoliosLab's comparison tool.

Symbol name

Diversifiers

Pair BUFR with funds that move differently

FT Vest Laddered Buffer ETF alternatives help with substitution. Diversifiers are the next step when you want funds with lower historical correlation to BUFR.

Explore BUFR Diversifiers

FT Vest Laddered Buffer ETF (BUFR) Alternatives