At a glance
QDEC charges 0.9% a year, above the 0.86% average of the 7 funds most like it (the 6th cheapest of 8). It has $702.8M in assets, the 8th largest of that group. Over the past year it returned +15.7% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%), the best of those 8 funds; over three years it returned +17.8% a year. At its worst it fell 24.6% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 15 months after the low.
The short version
FT Vest Nasdaq-100 Buffer ETF – December (QDEC) is a First Trust fund that holds FLEX options on the Invesco QQQ Trust, which tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index. Each outcome period runs about one year from December. In each period the fund aims to absorb the first 10% of QQQ's price losses. In return, gains are capped, at 18.22% before fees for the period ending December 18, 2026. It costs 0.90% a year and pays no distributions.
Price history
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QDEC +15.7% over the year to Oct 27, 2026, total return with distributions reinvested.
How it has behaved
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | Since start | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QDEC official prospectus, to Dec 31, 2024 | — | +16.50% | — | — | — | +8.47% |
| QDEC price data to Oct 27, 2026 | +13.0% | +15.7% | +17.8% | +10.0% | — | +11.1% |
- Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, QDEC returned +15.7%, 1st of 8 among similar funds.
- Its 5-year annualized return was +10.0%.
- Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-22.3%); its best was 2023 (+29.3%).
- The deepest fall in its price history was 25.3% (Dec 27, 2021 to Oct 14, 2022), recovered by Dec 26, 2023.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data | Prospectus (official) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +13.0% | — |
| 2025 | +18.1% | — |
| 2024 | +16.4% | +16.50% |
| 2023 | +29.3% | +29.53% |
| 2022 | -22.3% | -22.60% |
| 2021 | — | +17.31% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Before this security existed |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 24.4% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 24.6%, back to its old high 14.5 months after the low |
What's inside
As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 0 securities; the ten largest made up 0% of assets.
| Holding | Weight |
|---|
By country
By asset type
What changed recently
- Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $5.3M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
- Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: -0.06%, -1.43%, +3.16%.
How it works
QDEC does not own stocks directly. It puts substantially all of its assets in FLEX Options. These are exchange-traded option contracts with custom strike prices and expiration dates, and they reference the price of the Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1. QQQ is a unit investment trust that holds all the stocks in the Nasdaq-100 Index: 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on Nasdaq. As of August 31, 2026, 99.55% of the fund's $702.8 million in net assets sat in 16 option positions, with 0.52% in cash. Vest Financial is the sub-advisor.
The options work together to create a buffer and a cap over an outcome period of about one year. From December 22, 2025 through December 18, 2026, the cap is 18.22% and the buffer covers the first 10% of QQQ losses, both before fees. After the fund's fees, those figures are 17.32% and 9.10%. If QQQ falls more than 10%, the fund takes further losses one for one. Returns follow QQQ's price only, not its dividends.
Each December the fund resets with new options. The 10% buffer stays the same, but the cap changes with market conditions. Investors who buy after the period starts, or sell before it ends, may get results very different from the targets. The fund may also handle creations and redemptions in cash, which can make it less tax-efficient than ETFs that do these in kind.
What it really costs
- QDEC charges 0.9% a year, versus an average of 0.86% for the similar funds below (6th of 8, cheapest first).
Structure and tax notes
- Organized as a unit investment trust: it cannot lend out its securities or reinvest dividends between payouts, which can create a small drag versus similar open-end ETFs.
- Uses options to limit losses within a range (the buffer) in exchange for a cap on gains over each outcome period; results depend on when you buy relative to the period start.
In a retirement portfolio
It offers a partly hedged version of one concentrated, growth-heavy index, and its results depend on when an investor buys within the outcome period.
QDEC can soften moderate drops in the Nasdaq-100 part of a portfolio, but 2022 showed its limits. It fell 24.6% between January 3 and October 11, 2022, and its prospectus shows a 22.6% loss for calendar 2022, its worst year. It did not regain its earlier high until December 26, 2023, about 14 months after the low. Anyone who had to sell shares in late 2022 would have locked in most of that loss. There is no record for 2008 or 2020 because the fund launched in December 2020. It pays no distributions, so any cash drawn from it has to come from selling shares. Its 0.90% expense ratio is above the 0.86% average of similar buffer funds. Past results don't predict future returns, and a retirement plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.
Who it may suit — and who should look elsewhere
May suit
- Investors who want Nasdaq-100 exposure through QQQ and will accept capped gains, 18.22% before fees through December 18, 2026, in exchange for a 10% buffer.
- Investors who can buy near the December reset and hold for the full one-year outcome period, which is when the buffer and cap apply as designed.
- Investors who don't need income from this holding, since the fund has made no distributions and its returns exclude QQQ's dividends.
Look elsewhere if
- Retirees who need regular cash payouts. The fund has made no distributions, so drawing money from it means selling shares.
- Investors seeking deep downside protection. Losses beyond 10% pass through, and the fund fell 24.6% in the 2022 bear market.
- Cost-focused investors. Its 0.90% expense ratio ranks 6th of 8 among similar buffer funds, above PDEC's 0.79% and FDEC's 0.85%.
Close alternatives
Matched by other buffer (defined-outcome) funds, largest first.
| Fund | Cost | Net assets | 1 yr | 3 yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QDEC this fund | 0.9% | $702.8M | +15.7% | +17.8% |
| BUFR FT Vest Laddered Buffer ETF | 0.95% | $10.49B | +11.6% | +16.8% |
| BUFD FT Vest Laddered Deep Buffer ETF | 0.95% | $2.04B | +9.5% | +13.9% |
| PJAN Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - Ja… | 0.79% | $1.44B | +10.5% | +14.8% |
| PDEC Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF - De… | 0.79% | $984.1M | +11.6% | +14.9% |
| FDEC FT Vest US Equity Buffer ETF - December | 0.85% | $1.31B | +12.9% | +18.5% |
| FJAN FT Vest US Equity Buffer ETF - January | 0.85% | $1.47B | +12.3% | +17.4% |
| FFEB FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer Fund - February | 0.85% | $1.42B | +12.9% | +18.6% |
Questions investors ask
Does QDEC pay dividends?
No. The fund has no recorded distributions. It holds FLEX options on the Invesco QQQ Trust rather than the stocks themselves. Its prospectus states that its performance will not reflect the dividends QQQ pays. All of its return comes from price changes in its options. An investor who wants cash from this holding would have to sell shares, which may not suit someone counting on steady income.
How does the QDEC buffer work?
The buffer aims to absorb the first 10% of QQQ's price losses, before fees, for investors who hold shares for a full outcome period. That period runs about one year from December. For the period from December 22, 2025 through December 18, 2026, gains are capped at 18.22% before fees. After fees, the cap is 17.32% and the buffer is 9.10%. If QQQ drops more than 10%, the fund takes further losses one for one. For example, a 20% QQQ loss means roughly a 10% fund loss.
What happens if I buy QDEC in the middle of the outcome period?
Your results may differ a lot from the stated cap and buffer. Those levels are fixed against QQQ's price and the fund's net asset value on the first day of each period. If the fund has already risen, less upside may remain before the cap. If it has already fallen, part of the buffer may be used up. The prospectus also warns that the fund's value can move quite differently from QQQ during the period. The fund's website posts the anticipated cap range about a week before each reset.
What's the difference between QDEC and FDEC?
Both are FT Vest December buffer funds from First Trust. QDEC buffers QQQ, which tracks the growth-heavy Nasdaq-100. FDEC is a U.S. equity buffer fund. FDEC costs 0.85% a year, compared with 0.90% for QDEC. As of October 27, 2026, QDEC returned 15.7% over one year against FDEC's 12.9%. Over three years, QDEC returned 17.8% a year against FDEC's 18.5%. FDEC is also larger: $1.31 billion against $702.8 million as of August 31, 2026.
Did QDEC protect investors in the 2022 market drop?
Only in part. According to its prospectus, QDEC lost 22.6% in calendar 2022. Its worst quarter was a 16.06% drop in the quarter ending June 30, 2022. The buffer covers only the first 10% of QQQ losses in each December-to-December outcome period, and deeper losses pass straight through. The fund's largest decline was 25.3%, from December 27, 2021 to October 14, 2022. It regained its earlier high on December 26, 2023, about 14 months after the low.