Across the buffer ETF market, 380 funds from 8 issuers stood at a range of points in their outcome periods as of Sep 19, 2026. Of these, 100 funds, or 26% of the total, had reached their cap, meaning the index tied to those funds has no further upside for the rest of the period. Another 226 funds, 59% of the total, were in an open state, while 53 funds, or 14%, had their buffer already absorbing some losses. One fund had its buffer exhausted. For the median fund still open to gains, issuer numbers showed room to rise 5.3% before hitting its cap, and room to fall 4.7% before its buffer would begin cushioning losses.
The distribution of capped funds varied by issuer. Innovator, the largest issuer by fund count with 108 funds, had 28 at cap and 18 with buffers working, with a median remaining gain of 6.2% and a median cushion of 5.9% before losses reach the buffer. First Trust, with 85 funds, also had 28 at cap but a smaller cushion, at 4.9% remaining upside and 7.3% before the buffer starts. AllianzIM's 56 funds included 8 at cap and 8 with buffers working, with numbers of 5.0% and 4.5%. PGIM, with 44 funds, had 18 at cap, the highest share relative to its fund count among issuers with gain data, and a median remaining gain of 4.3% against a 4.1% cushion. Corgi's 36 funds had none at cap, and its median fall-before-buffer number stood apart at just 0.5%. Calamos, with 32 funds, had 15 at cap, and TrueShares' 11 funds had none at cap and none with buffers working. iShares' 8 funds included 3 at cap.
Looking ahead by reset month, the pattern in remaining caps follows the time each period has had to run. Funds resetting in September 2026, the nearest month, carried a median remaining gain of just 0.9%, with 22 of 54 funds already at cap and the underlying index up 14.2% since the period began. This pattern of smaller headroom near-term and larger headroom further out continues through the year: by August 2027, the last month shown, 20 funds carried a median remaining gain of 15.3%, with none at cap, and the reference index down 0.7% since that period's start. The stretch from April through August 2027 stands out for combining low cap-hit counts with comparatively larger remaining upside numbers, consistent with those periods having had less time for their indices to run since reset.
Expense ratios across issuers ranged from 0.30% for Corgi to 0.80% for Innovator, First Trust and TrueShares, with AllianzIM and iShares both listing 0.50% and Calamos 0.70%. These numbers are published by issuers in fund-price terms, net of fees, while the band states (at cap, open, buffer working) are calculated by ETFIQ from index-level terms.
Readers can check any fund's current distance to cap and to its buffer, along with its specific reset date and expense ratio, on the live desk.