Across the buffer ETF landscape tracked by ETFIQ, 429 funds from 8 issuers were measured as of Sep 23, 2026. Of these, 130 funds, or 30%, sat at their cap, meaning the underlying index has already risen to or past the level where the fund's upside for this period runs out. Another 271 funds, 63% of the total, were in the open band, with room left before either the cap or the buffer comes into play. A smaller group, 27 funds or 6%, had their buffer already absorbing losses, and one fund had its buffer exhausted. The summary number of 28 funds with buffers working reflects the buffer-working count plus the exhausted fund. For the median fund across all 429, the issuers' own numbers show 5.1% of further gain still available before the cap, and a 4.9% decline in the fund's price would occur before the buffer starts cushioning losses.
The by-issuer breakdown shows how this varies. Innovator, the largest group with 138 funds, had 44 at cap and 12 with buffers working, a median remaining gain of 5.4% and a median cushion of 6.1% before losses reach the buffer. First Trust, with 104 funds, had 34 at cap and 5 with buffers working, median numbers of 5.8% remaining gain and 6.0% before the buffer. AllianzIM's 56 funds showed 11 at cap, 2 with buffers working, and medians of 4.5% and 4.8%. PGIM's 44 funds had 20 at cap, none with buffers working, and medians of 3.9% and 4.3%. Corgi, Calamos, TrueShares, and iShares rounded out the list with smaller fund counts; Corgi, Calamos, and TrueShares did not report a median remaining gain number, shown as "·" in the table, though their median downside cushions ranged from 3.0% to 5.7%. iShares' 8 funds had 4 at cap and medians of 3.8% and 6.0%.
Looking ahead by reset month, the data shows a pattern tied to timing. Funds resetting soonest, such as the 52 funds ending Sep 2026, carry the least remaining cap, a median of just 0.6%, alongside a median index move since the period started of +15.0%, indicating those indexes have already climbed close to or past their ceilings. As reset dates extend further out, from Oct 2026 through Aug 2027, the median remaining gain generally rises, reaching 14.1% for the 26 funds ending Aug 2027, where the median index move since period start was only +0.1%. This reflects the mechanical relationship described in the summary: funds with more time left in their period have had less opportunity for the index to approach the cap, leaving more headroom in percentage terms, at least as measured today.
Readers working from the live desk can check where any individual fund's remaining cap and downside cushion stand today, since these numbers move daily as the underlying index shifts.