SMAY bid-ask spread and liquidity

FT Vest U.S. Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETF - May
BufferFirst Trust$111m net assets0.90% fee
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As of Oct 22, 2026, SMAY’s median bid-ask spread over 30 days was 0.29%.

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Ask IQ about SMAY bid-ask spread and liquidity

Answers cite the figures on this page.

OverviewTradingFlowsCompare

IQ Liquidity Score

3 of 6 measured · Oct 22, 2026
·
Not scored
0 · Hard to trade100 · Trades like a giant

The IQ Liquidity Score: a fixed 0 to 100 scale of trading conditions, the same anchors for every fund; 100 is the easiest to trade. It measures how cheaply and reliably the fund trades, not whether to own it. Method →

Cost to trade
0.29% median spread, 30 days to Oct 22, 2026
41.9
Capacity
Holdings can absorb $695m a day, Oct 22, 2026
94.7
Price fidelity
Not measured · 16 days of closing premium are held, under the 20 needed
·
Primary market
4 active dealers of 22; largest 79% of creations and redemptions, N-CEN to Aug 31, 2025
65.0
Bad-day behaviour
Not measured · 0 of the 10 worst days and 16 other days are held, under the 5 and 60 needed
·
Depth
Not measured · needs trade and quote data (Phase 2)
·

Cost for your order

One way, half its 30-day median spread; sizes above $10,000 are estimates
SMAY: cost for your order at each size, round trip
OrderDollarsPercentBasis
$1,000$1.450.14%spread
$10,000$150.14%spread
$100,000$1510.15%estimate
$1,000,000$1,6280.16%estimate

Spread 0.29% median, 30 days to Oct 22, 2026. Above $10,000 the cost adds an estimate of market impact that grows with the order against the holdings’ capacity; a patient limit pays less.

Premium or discount to value

Daily, 16 days to Oct 22, 2026 · the ±1% band marked
SMAY premium or discount to NAV, 16 days+1%0−1%Sep 11, 2026Oct 22, 2026
Latest close, Oct 22
−0.11%
95% of days within
±0.28%
Days more than 1% from NAV
0 of 16
Widest
−0.28%, Sep 11, 2026

Close against the NAV its issuer struck the same day, from the issuer. Source: ETFIQ.

Capacity

What the holdings can absorb a day, at 10% of each one’s volume
Holdings can absorb
$695m

SMAY’s holdings can absorb $695m a day, measured on the holdings of IWM, its reference asset, as of Oct 22, 2026. A $1m order is 0.14% of a day’s capacity.

The holding that sets the limit: CITIZENS AND NORTHERN CORP (CZNC), 0.02% of the fund, $1m a day traded, the median of 20 days to Oct 22, 2026. Capacity is the least of the holding-level ratios over the holdings making up 95% of the weight.

Dealers

Authorized participants · N-CEN, the year to Aug 31, 2025
Active dealers
4
of 22 authorized
Largest
79%
of creations and redemptions
One dealer
No
4 active

4 of 22 authorized participants created or redeemed SMAY shares in the year to Aug 31, 2025. From the fund’s Form N-CEN, filed Nov 12, 2025.

The active authorized participants, largest first, by share of the dollars created and redeemed: Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (78.8%), BofA Securities, Inc. (12.0%), Jane Street Capital, LLC (8.6%), J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (0.5%). 18 more were listed and created or redeemed nothing.

How to trade SMAY

To buy or to sell, up to $100,000
Order type
Limit: midpoint + 5¢ to buy, midpoint − 5¢ to sell.At the Oct 22 close of $27.61, that’s $27.66 to buy and $27.56 to sell.
When
ETF spreads are usually widest in the first minutes after the open and the last before the close.
Size
Up to $7m is 1% of what its holdings can absorb in a day, for a buy or a sell.
Watch
The premium. On 95% of days it is within ±0.28%; beyond that a buyer pays more, and a seller gets less, than the holdings are worth.
Phase 2 · drawn now, filled when trade data arrives
Spread through the dayComing with trade data

Median spread by half hour, 30 days.

Buyers against sellersComing with trade data

Share of volume at the ask against at the bid.

Retail flow, estimatedComing with trade data

Sub-penny prints as a share of volume.

Large tradesComing with trade data

Prints above $500k, count and share.

Closing auctionComing with trade data

Share of the day’s volume at the close.

Questions people ask

What is SMAY’s bid-ask spread?

0.29% of the midpoint, the median over the 30 days to Oct 22, 2026, as its issuer states it. Half of it is about 5¢ a share at the Oct 22 close.

Does SMAY trade at a premium or discount to NAV?

It closed −0.11% from its NAV on Oct 22, 2026. On 95% of the 16 days to then it was within ±0.28%, and it closed more than 1% from NAV on 0 of them.

Who is the AP for SMAY?

SMAY’s latest Form N-CEN, for the period ending Aug 31, 2025, lists 22 authorized participants (APs), and 4 created or redeemed shares. The largest were Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (78.8%), BofA Securities, Inc. (12.0%), Jane Street Capital, LLC (8.6%) of the dollars its APs created and redeemed.

Who is the LMM for SMAY?

SMAY’s lead market maker (LMM) on Cboe BZX is Old Mission Capital LLC. Lead market maker per Cboe BZX, as of Oct 23, 2026.

What does it cost to trade $10,000 of SMAY?

About $15 one way, 0.14%: half its 30-day median spread. In and out costs twice that.

How do I place a limit order for SMAY?

Set the limit at the midpoint + 5¢ to buy, or the midpoint − 5¢ to sell, in your broker’s quote. At the Oct 22 close of $27.61, that’s $27.66 to buy and $27.56 to sell.
Sources and dates
SpreadFirst Trust (fund page), 30-day median · to Oct 22, 2026
Premium to NAVETFIQ, close against the issuer’s NAV · Sep 11, 2026 to Oct 22, 2026
CapacityETFIQ, each holding’s 20-day median dollar volume · to Oct 22, 2026
DealersForm N-CEN · the year to Aug 31, 2025
Where to next
ETF trading costs and liquidity→Cost-to-trade checker→Why low volume does not mean illiquidguide →Limit orders vs market orders for ETFsguide →How the IQ Liquidity Score is builtmethod →SMAY fund page→
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, SMAY trading: cost, capacity, premium and dealers, data as of Oct 22, 2026. https://etfiq.com/funds/smay/trading/

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The score measures trading conditions, not the fund. ETFIQ makes no recommendations.