ETF Education Report: RSSE

What this ETF is trying to do

The FT VEST U.S. EQUITY EQUAL WEIGHT BUFFER ETF - SEPTEMBER (ticker: RSSE) is an exchange-traded fund listed on the NYSE. While specific investment strategies can change, this ETF is categorized as a standard asset-type ETF and is not a leveraged, inverse, or crypto-related fund.

What the numbers show

The current price of RSSE is $23.42. To understand how the share price has moved, we can look at two different timeframes:

• Year-to-Date (YTD): The price return for the year so far is approximately 9.39%.

• One Year: The one-year price return is approximately 10.27%.

Because this ETF also provides total return data, we can see that the one-year total return is also 10.27%. It is important to remember that "price return" only tracks the change in the share price, while "total return" includes both price changes and any distributions (like cash payments) received. In this specific case, the two numbers are the same.

We can also look at an estimated price from roughly one year ago, which was approximately $21.24. If you had invested $10,000 into the share price one year ago, that investment would have grown based on the 10.27% price return.

Income and distribution explanation

Some investors look for ETFs that pay out regular cash, known as distributions. For RSSE, the distribution yield is 0%. The data shows no distributions were detected over the last 12 months. Because there are no payouts, the income rating for this ETF is a grade of "C."

NAV erosion explanation

"NAV erosion" refers to a situation where the Net Asset Value (the actual value of the assets held by the fund) decreases over time. StockValueFinder uses an "erosion-risk score" to help monitor this. For RSSE, the erosion score is 100, which is labeled as "No price erosion detected." There is no severe erosion-risk flag for this ETF.

Pros

• The ETF has shown positive price returns both year-to-date and over the last year.

• The erosion-risk measurement is rated as "good," suggesting no detected price erosion.

Cons

• The ETF currently provides no distribution yield or cash income to investors.

• Data for three-year returns was not supplied.

Beginner takeaway

RSSE has experienced a share-price increase over the last year. However, it does not currently pay out cash distributions to investors. When looking at any ETF, it is helpful to distinguish between the price of the share and the total return, which includes any income paid out.