Are FOCT and SPY the same kind of fund?

Name: ETFIQ comparison of FOCT and SPY
Creator: ETFIQ
License: https://etfiq.com/standards/

No. FOCT is a buffer ETF and SPY is an index ETF, so they are built for different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and what each actually holds.

Data as of Sep 4, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

FOCT vs SPY

FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - October and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.

FOCT and SPY on the fields both publish, as of Sep 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	FOCT FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - October	SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust
Where it sits	Buffer desk	Core fund
Issuer	First Trust	State Street
What it is	Defined outcome, on SPY	S&P 500, book from IVV
Total return, 1 year	not published	+20.0%
S&P 500 over the same days	not published	+20.0%
Gap to the S&P 500	not available	+0.0 pts
Expense ratio	0.85%	not published
Holdings	n/a	504

FOCT in plain words

SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +15.1% for the period on Sep 4, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's own price can still drift up to about 1.6% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 11.9% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 13.7% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 10.0% of the 10.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 42 days remained on Sep 4, 2026. On Oct 16, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.

SPY in plain words

SPY is a index equity fund tracking S&P 500, book from IVV. Over the year to Sep 4, 2026 it returned +20.0% with distributions reinvested, against +20.0% for the S&P 500 and +25.6% for the Nasdaq-100. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 504 positions, with the top ten at 36.4%.

Questions people ask

Are FOCT and SPY the same kind of fund?: No. FOCT is a buffer ETF and SPY is an index ETF, so they are built for different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and what each actually holds.

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Where to next

Cite this page. ETFIQ, FOCT against SPY, data as of Sep 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/FOCT-SPY.html Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. ETFIQ publishes the same fields for every fund and suggests no allocation. Standards and sources