Across the 429 buffer ETFs from 8 issuers tracked as of Sep 22, 2026, 153 funds, or 36%, sat at their cap, meaning the underlying index has already risen enough that those funds have no further upside for the current period. A further 253 funds, or 59%, remained open, with room to move in either direction, while 23 funds, or 5%, had their buffer already absorbing losses. Across all funds, the median fund could still gain 4.8% from its current price before hitting its cap, and could fall 5.0% before its buffer began to apply, based on the issuers' own published data.
The issuer breakdown shows uneven distribution of capped funds. Innovator, the largest issuer with 138 funds, had 55 at cap and 8 with buffers working, a median remaining gain of 4.9% and a median fall of 6.3% before buffer, at a 0.80% median expense ratio. First Trust, with 104 funds, had 41 at cap and a median remaining gain of 5.5% against a 6.1% median cushion before buffer. AllianzIM's 56 funds showed 12 at cap with a 4.2% median remaining gain and 5.2% median downside room. PGIM's 44 funds had the highest share at cap relative to size, 22 of 44, with no funds showing buffer working, a 3.7% median remaining gain and 4.5% median fall before buffer, at the lowest listed expense ratio among issuers with a median gain number, 0.50%. Corgi, Calamos, TrueShares and iShares rounded out the table, several with "·" where a median remaining gain was not shown; each still reported a median fall before buffer, ranging from 2.2% for Corgi to 5.9% for iShares.
The reset-month table illustrates why capped funds cluster where they do. Funds resetting soonest carry the least remaining cap, because their tracked index has had the most time to climb toward the ceiling before the period closes. Sep 2026, the nearest reset month, had 52 funds with 28 at cap and just a 0.3% median remaining gain, against a median index move since period start of +15.9%. This pattern eases moving outward: Apr 2027's 36 funds had only 8 at cap and 7.5% median remaining gain, and by May and Aug 2027, no funds were shown at cap, with median remaining gains of 11.3% and 13.9% respectively. The index moves since each period's start were also smaller in these later-resetting months, consistent with less time elapsed toward the cap. Mar 2027 stood out with 25 of 34 funds at cap despite a +18.9% median index move since period start, the largest such move in the twelve-month table.
Readers can check any individual fund's current cap, buffer level, and days remaining until reset on the live desk, alongside the reference index level used in these calculations.