FAUG Alternatives & Similar ETFs

FT Cboe Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - August (FAUG) 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 FAUG. Use the tables to find lower-cost options, better risk-adjusted returns, or a closer substitute for your current allocation.

Cheapest Alternatives to FAUG

FAUG charges 0.85% annually. There are 217 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	FAUG vs JANB
JULB	Aptus July Buffer ETF	0.25%	—	Oct 2025	FAUG vs JULB
OCTB	Aptus October Buffer ETF	0.25%	—	Oct 2025	FAUG vs OCTB
APRB	Aptus April Buffer ETF	0.25%	—	Oct 2025	FAUG vs APRB
FBUF	Fidelity Dynamic Buffered Equity ETF	0.48%	—	Apr 2024	FAUG vs FBUF

Best Risk-Adjusted Alternatives to FAUG

FAUG has a PortfoliosLab risk / return rank of 85. There are 143 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	FAUG vs PMAP
CPSP	Calamos S&P 500 Structured Alt Protection ETF - Ap...	98	21.00M	Apr 2025	FAUG vs CPSP
MMAX	iShares Large Cap Max Buffer Mar ETF	98	—	Mar 2025	FAUG vs MMAX
ZAPR	Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - 1 Yr Apr...	98	—	Apr 2025	FAUG vs ZAPR
CPRA	Calamos Russell 2000 Structured Alt Protection ETF...	98	13.20M	Apr 2025	FAUG vs CPRA

Top Performing FAUG Alternatives (YTD)

FAUG is at 7.82% YTD. There are 57 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	FAUG vs NVDO
QB	ProShares Nasdaq-100 Dynamic Daily Buffer ETF	13.84%	2.87M	Jun 2025	FAUG vs QB
KFEB	Innovator U.S. Small Cap Power Buffer ETF - Februa...	13.73%	—	Jan 2025	FAUG vs KFEB
KAPR	Innovator Russell 2000 Power Buffer ETF - April	13.09%	214.27M	Mar 2020	FAUG vs KAPR
BAPR	Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - April	11.91%	403.09M	Mar 2019	FAUG vs BAPR

Lowest Volatility Alternatives to FAUG

FAUG has 7.16% 1-year volatility. There are 184 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	FAUG vs PMAP
APXM	FT Vest U.S. Equity Max Buffer ETF - April	1.33%	—	Apr 2025	FAUG vs APXM
CPSP	Calamos S&P 500 Structured Alt Protection ETF - Ap...	1.40%	21.00M	Apr 2025	FAUG vs CPSP
PMMY	PGIM S&P 500 Max Buffer ETF - May	1.40%	—	Apr 2025	FAUG vs PMMY
MMAX	iShares Large Cap Max Buffer Mar ETF	1.44%	—	Mar 2025	FAUG vs MMAX

Lowest Drawdown Alternatives to FAUG

FAUG has a 1-year max drawdown of -5.26%. There are 170 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	FAUG vs PMAP
CPSP	Calamos S&P 500 Structured Alt Protection ETF - Ap...	-0.37%	21.00M	Apr 2025	FAUG vs CPSP
ZAPR	Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - 1 Yr Apr...	-0.40%	—	Apr 2025	FAUG vs ZAPR
MMAX	iShares Large Cap Max Buffer Mar ETF	-0.46%	—	Mar 2025	FAUG vs MMAX
CPSM	Calamos S&P 500 Structured Alt Protection ETF - Ma...	-0.49%	56.60M	May 2024	FAUG 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	FAUG 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	FAUG vs GRID
AIRR	First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ET...	Building & Construction	54	19.12%	10.18B	Mar 2014	FAUG 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	FAUG vs NFTY
FDL	First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fun...	Large Cap Value Equities, Dividend	92	18.16%	7.77B	Mar 2006	FAUG vs FDL
IGLD	FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF	Gold, Derivative Income, Precious Metals	25	-6.56%	514.13M	Mar 2021	FAUG vs IGLD
FTXL	First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF	Semiconductors, Technology Equities	91	67.20%	1.27B	Sep 2016	FAUG vs FTXL
TDIV	First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund	Technology Equities, Dividend	43	14.88%	4.18B	Aug 2012	FAUG vs TDIV
QCLN	First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index F...	Alternative Energy Equities, Energy Equities	39	10.48%	586.61M	Feb 2007	FAUG vs QCLN
RDVY	First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF	Dividend, Large Cap Blend Equities	85	17.25%	24.89B	Jan 2014	FAUG vs RDVY

Often Compared With FAUG

Investors most often compare FAUG with BUFR, DMAY, SPY. These 20 comparison targets span 11 categories, based on PortfoliosLab usage data.

Symbol	Name	Category	Risk / Return Rank	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
BUFR	FT Vest Laddered Buffer ETF	Defined Outcome	87	7.33%	10.19B	Aug 2020	FAUG vs BUFR
DMAY	FT Cboe Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - May	Defined Outcome	81	4.47%	374.27M	May 2020	FAUG vs DMAY
SPY	State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF	S&P 500	67	10.13%	789.06B	Jan 1993	FAUG vs SPY
UNOV	Innovator U.S. Equity Ultra Buffer ETF - November	Defined Outcome	77	6.21%	108.16M	Nov 2019	FAUG vs UNOV
SPXM	Azoria 500 Meritocracy ETF	Large Cap Blend Equities	58	0.00%	—	Jul 2025	FAUG vs SPXM
VOTE	TCW Transform 500 ETF	Large Cap Blend Equities	64	10.03%	1.10B	Jun 2021	FAUG vs VOTE
FTAG	First Trust Indxx Global Agriculture ETF	Large Cap Blend Equities	33	11.55%	14.30M	Mar 2010	FAUG vs FTAG
PSCX	Pacer Swan SOS Conservative (December) ETF	Defined Outcome	88	5.97%	45.95M	Dec 2020	FAUG vs PSCX
FJUN	FT Cboe Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - June	Defined Outcome	81	5.31%	1.36B	Jun 2020	FAUG vs FJUN
TRND	Pacer Trendpilot Fund of Funds ETF	Large Cap Blend Equities	57	8.24%	62.59M	May 2019	FAUG vs TRND
USPX	Franklin U.S. Equity Index ETF	Large Cap Blend Equities	61	9.67%	2.00B	Jun 2016	FAUG vs USPX
SPTM	SPDR Portfolio S&P 1500 Composite Stock Market ETF	Large Cap Blend Equities	70	10.61%	13.48B	Oct 2000	FAUG vs SPTM
WLTG	WealthTrust DBS Long Term Growth ETF	Large Cap Blend Equities	61	8.11%	65.12M	Dec 2021	FAUG vs WLTG
FTIF	First Trust Bloomberg Inflation Sensitive Equity E...	Large Cap Blend Equities	88	24.04%	5.62M	Mar 2023	FAUG vs FTIF
PSMD	Pacer Swan SOS Moderate (December) ETF	Defined Outcome	87	6.35%	93.10M	Dec 2020	FAUG vs PSMD
THLV	THOR Equal Weight Low Volatility ETF	Equal Weight, Low Volatility	55	8.51%	49.87M	Sep 2022	FAUG vs THLV
ROBT	First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence & Robot...	Artificial Intelligence, Technology Equities, Robotics	20	6.10%	724.78M	Feb 2018	FAUG vs ROBT
BLCR	Blackrock Large Cap Core ETF	Large Cap Blend Equities	79	15.00%	6.44B	Oct 2023	FAUG vs BLCR
TOLZ	ProShares DJ Brookfield Global Infrastructure ETF	Infrastructure Equities, Industrials Equities	71	12.26%	176.36M	Mar 2014	FAUG vs TOLZ
KNG	FT Vest S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Target Income...	Dividend, S&P 500	44	8.70%	3.53B	Mar 2018	FAUG vs KNG

Compare FAUG with Any Fund or Stock

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

Symbol name

Diversifiers

Pair FAUG with funds that move differently

FT Cboe Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - August alternatives help with substitution. Diversifiers are the next step when you want funds with lower historical correlation to FAUG.

Explore FAUG Diversifiers

FT Cboe Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - August (FAUG) Alternatives