• The fund is the newest addition to First Trust's Target Outcome ETF lineup, which now includes 125 funds with over $33 billion in total net assets—a 32% year-over-year increase as of 9/30/25.

First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust”) a leading exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) provider and asset manager, announced today that it has launched the FT Vest U.S. Buffer & Digital Return ETF – October (Cboe: DGOC) (the “fund”).

DGOC seeks to provide investors with a buffer against the first 10% of losses on the price returns of the SPDR^® S&P 500^® ETF Trust (“SPY” or the “Underlying ETF”) while also providing a predetermined return level (“digital return”) if the Underlying ETF appreciates in price, remains unchanged or decreases in price by 10% or less, over the Target Outcome Period.

“We are delighted to expand our lineup of Target Outcome ETFs with the launch of DGOC. We believe this ETF may be a compelling solution for investors, seeking to provide attractive positive returns even when equity markets are modestly lower, while also buffering downside risk when markets face steeper losses,” said Ryan Issakainen, CFA, Senior Vice President, ETF Strategist at First Trust.

First Trust believes a buffer against a level of losses can help investors stay invested during volatile times. “DGOC introduces a new way to pursue target outcomes—offering a predetermined digital return when the market is flat, modestly down, or rising. In an environment where volatility and uncertainty remain top of mind, this may provide advisors with a new tool: a preset digital return across a wide range of market scenarios, combined with a downside buffer. It reflects Vest’s commitment to delivering outcome-focused solutions that can provide more clarity, control, and consistency to portfolio construction,” said Jeff Chang, President of Vest Financial LLC, sub-advisor to the fund.

If an investor purchases shares after the first day of the Target Outcome Period, they will likely have a different return potential and buffer than an investor who purchased shares at the start of the Target Outcome Period and the buffer the fund seeks may not be available. At the end of the Target Outcome Period, the digital return for the new Target Outcome Period is reset to prevailing market conditions. The fund has a perpetual structure and may be held indefinitely, providing investors a buy and hold investment opportunity.

For more information about First Trust, please contact Ryan Issakainen at (630) 765-8689 or RIssakainen@FTAdvisors.com.

About First Trust

First Trust Advisors L.P. ("FTA") is a federally registered investment advisor and serves as the Fund's investment advisor. FTA and its affiliate First Trust Portfolios L.P. ("FTP"), a FINRA registered broker-dealer, are privately-held companies that provide a variety of investment services. FTA has collective assets under management or supervision of approximately $299 billion as of September 30, 2025 through unit investment trusts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, mutual funds and separate managed accounts. FTA is the supervisor of the First Trust unit investment trusts, while FTP is the sponsor. FTP is also a distributor of mutual fund shares and exchange-traded fund creation units. FTA and FTP are based in Wheaton, Illinois.

About Vest:

Vest delivers the benefits of derivatives seeking precise, outcome-driven solutions—removing some uncertainty while bringing clarity to portfolios. Vest’s Target Outcome Investments^® simplify derivative strategies into trusted, outcome-focused products, accessible through a broad range of investment solutions. As the leader in Target Buffer ETFs^® and creators of over 300 innovative products, Vest manages $54B+ in AUM/AUS with a pristine track record of target delivery. Combining technical mastery, practical execution, and trusted partnerships, Vest is committed to making derivatives work for everyone. For more information about Vest, visit www.vestfin.com or contact Daniella Jones at djones@vestfin.com or (203) 249-5416.

You should consider the fund’s investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses carefully before investing. Contact First Trust Portfolios L.P. at 1-800-621-1675 or visit www.ftportfolios.com to obtain a prospectus or summary prospectus which contains this and other information about the fund. The prospectus or summary prospectus should be read carefully before investing.

Risk Considerations

You could lose money by investing in a fund. An investment in a fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed. There can be no assurance that a fund's objective(s) will be achieved. Investors buying or selling shares on the secondary market may incur customary brokerage commissions. Please refer to each fund's prospectus and Statement of Additional Information for additional details on a fund's risks. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.

There can be no assurance that an active trading market for fund shares will develop or be maintained.

A fund that uses FLEX Options to employ a "target outcome strategy" has characteristics unlike many other traditional investment products and may not be appropriate for all investors. There can be no guarantee that a target outcome fund will be successful in its strategy to buffer against losses. A shareholder may lose their entire investment. In the event an investor purchases shares after the first day of the target outcome period defined in the fund's prospectus ("Target Outcome Period") or sells shares prior to the end of the Target Outcome Period, the buffer that a fund seeks to provide may not be available.

A fund that effects all or a portion of its creations and redemptions for cash rather than in-kind may be less tax-efficient.

A fund may be subject to the risk that a counterparty will not fulfill its obligations which may result in significant financial loss to a fund.

Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of the fund in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions. For example, changes in governmental fiscal and regulatory policies, disruptions to banking and real estate markets, actual and threatened international armed conflicts and hostilities, and public health crises, among other significant events, could have a material impact on the value of the fund's investments.

A fund is susceptible to operational risks through breaches in cyber security. Such events could cause a fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss.

For shares purchased on the first day of the fund's Target Outcome Period and held for the full period, the fund seeks to provide a fixed digital return if the Underlying ETF appreciates, is unchanged, or declines by 10% or less. If the Underlying ETF declines by more than 10%, the digital return will not be paid. Investors will not participate in any gains of the Underlying ETF during the Target Outcome Period. Gains are limited to the digital return. Buying shares after the first day of the Target Outcome Period may result in little or no potential for gain, while still exposing the investor to downside risk.

Trading FLEX Options involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities. A fund may experience substantial downside from specific FLEX Option positions and certain FLEX Option positions may expire worthless. There can be no guarantee that a liquid secondary trading market will exist for the FLEX Options and FLEX options may be less liquid than exchange-traded options.

FLEX Options are subject to correlation risk and a FLEX Option's value may be highly volatile, and may fluctuate substantially during a short period of time. FLEX Options will be exercisable at the strike price only on their expiration date. Prior to the expiration date, the value of the FLEX Options will be determined based upon market quotations or other recognized pricing methods. In the absence of readily available market quotations for fund holdings, a fund's advisor may determine the fair value of the holding, which requires the advisor's judgement and is subject to the risk of mispricing or improper valuation.

A fund may be a constituent of one or more indices or models which could greatly affect a fund's trading activity, size and volatility.

Information technology companies are subject to certain risks, including rapidly changing technologies, short product life cycles, fierce competition, aggressive pricing and reduced profit margins, loss of patent, copyright and trademark protections, cyclical market patterns, evolving industry standards and regulation and frequent new product introductions.

Large capitalization companies may grow at a slower rate than the overall market.

The portfolio managers of an actively managed portfolio will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not have the desired result.

Market risk is the risk that a particular security, or shares of a fund in general may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as general economic conditions, political events, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of a fund could decline in value or underperform other investments as a result. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious disease or other public health issues, recessions, natural disasters or other events could have significant negative impact on a fund.

Large inflows and outflows may impact a new fund's market exposure for limited periods of time.

A fund classified as "non-diversified" may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers. As a result, a fund may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence affecting one or more of these issuers, experience increased volatility and be highly concentrated in certain issuers.

A fund and a fund's advisor may seek to reduce various operational risks through controls and procedures, but it is not possible to completely protect against such risks. The fund also relies on third parties for a range of services, including custody, and any delay or failure related to those services may affect the fund's ability to meet its objective.

The prices of options are volatile and the effective use of options depends on a fund's ability to terminate option positions at times deemed desirable to do so. There is no assurance that a fund will be able to effect closing transactions at any particular time or at an acceptable price.

The market price of a fund's shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the fund's net asset value ("NAV") as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on the exchange, and a fund's investment advisor cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their NAV.

If, in any year, a fund which intends to qualify as a Registered Investment Company (RIC) under the applicable tax laws fails to do so, it would be taxed as an ordinary corporation.

A target outcome fund's investment strategy is designed to deliver returns if shares are bought on the first day that the fund enters into the FLEX Options and are held until the FLEX Options expire at the end of the Target Outcome Period subject to the cap.

Trading on an exchange may be halted due to market conditions or other reasons. There can be no assurance that a fund's requirements to maintain the exchange listing will continue to be met or be unchanged.

A fund that invests in FLEX Options that reference an ETF is subject to certain of the risks of owning shares of an ETF as well as the risks of the types of instruments in which the reference ETF invests.

An underlying ETF with investments that are concentrated in a single asset class, country, region, industry, or sector may be more affected by adverse events than the market as a whole.

A fund that invests in FLEX Options that reference an ETF has exposure to the equity securities market. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market.

A fund may hold securities or other assets that may be valued on the basis of factors other than market quotations. This may occur because the asset or security does not trade on a centralized exchange, or in times of market turmoil or reduced liquidity. Portfolio holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including "fair valued" assets or securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their valuations from one day to the next than if market quotations were used. There is no assurance that a fund could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value established for it at any time.

First Trust Advisors L.P. (FTA) is the adviser to the First Trust fund(s). FTA is an affiliate of First Trust Portfolios L.P., the distributor of the fund(s).

The information presented is not intended to constitute an investment recommendation for, or advice to, any specific person. By providing this information, First Trust is not undertaking to give advice in any fiduciary capacity within the meaning of ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code or any other regulatory framework. Financial professionals are responsible for evaluating investment risks independently and for exercising independent judgment in determining whether investments are appropriate for their clients.

The Target Outcome registered trademarks are registered trademarks of Vest Financial LLC.

The fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDR^® S&P 500^® ETF Trust, PDR, or Standard & Poor's^® (together with their affiliates hereinafter referred to as the "Corporations"). The Corporations have not passed on the legality or suitability of, or the accuracy or adequacy of, descriptions and disclosures relating to the fund or the FLEX Options. The Corporations make no representations or warranties, express or implied, regarding the advisability of investing in the fund or the FLEX Options or results to be obtained by the fund or the FLEX Options, shareholders or any other person or entity from use of the SPDR^® S&P 500^® ETF Trust. The Corporations have no liability in connection with the management, administration, marketing or trading of the fund or the FLEX Options.

Definitions

SPY – SPDR^® S&P 500^® ETF Trust is an exchange-traded fund based on the S&P 500 Index, which is an unmanaged index of 500 companies used to measure large-cap U.S. stock market performance

Digital Return – The maximum potential return that the fund can provide at the end of the Target Outcome Period if the reference asset appreciates in price, remains unchanged or decreases in price by an amount equal to less than the digital return end over the Target Outcome Period.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251020037682/en/