As of September 28, 2026, the buffer ETF market covered 429 funds across 8 issuers. Of these, 124 funds, or 29%, sat at their cap, meaning the reference index has already risen far enough that those funds have no further upside for the remainder of their period. Another 252 funds, or 59%, were in an open state, with 51 funds, or 12%, in a band where the buffer was actively absorbing losses. A further 2 funds, or 0% by the table's rounding, had a buffer that was already exhausted.
Looking at issuers, the pattern of capped funds varies. Innovator had 41 of its 138 funds at cap, with 18 in the buffer-working state; its median fund could still gain 5.4% and had 6.1% of downside before the buffer would begin. First Trust showed a similar split, with 34 of 104 funds at cap and 15 in buffer-working, a median remaining gain of 5.8% and 6.0% of room before the buffer engages. AllianzIM had 11 of 56 funds at cap, PGIM had 18 of 44, and Calamos had 15 of 32, each with different combinations of remaining gain and buffer cushion as shown in the table. Corgi and TrueShares had few or no funds at cap, 1 of 36 and 0 of 11 respectively, while iShares had 4 of its 8 funds at cap. Median expense ratios by issuer ranged from 0.30% for Corgi to 0.80% for Innovator, First Trust, and TrueShares.
Across all funds, the median fund could still gain 5.1% from its current price before hitting its cap, and could fall 4.9% before its buffer would begin to work, based on the issuers' own published data.
The reset-month table shows a relationship between how soon a fund resets and how much remaining cap it carries. Funds resetting in September 2026 had a median remaining gain of just 0.6%, with 21 of 52 funds already at cap, reflecting a median index move since the period started of +14.7%. This pattern continues through the near months, with October 2026 through March 2027 showing more modest remaining gains, ranging from 1.5% to 4.8%, alongside index moves mostly in the 10% to 18% range. Further out, funds resetting from April 2027 onward show larger remaining gains, climbing to 14.3% for the August 2027 cohort, alongside smaller or negative median index moves since their period start, such as −0.2% for August 2027. This reflects the summary's point that funds further from reset have had less time for their index to move, leaving more of the cap still ahead of them.
A reader using the live desk can check where a specific fund or issuer currently stands, whether at cap, open, or in the buffer-working band, and how much remaining upside or downside cushion its current terms show as of today's date.