Across the 426 buffer ETFs tracked from 8 issuers, 113 funds, or 27%, sat at their cap on Sep 30, 2026. In index terms, those funds have no further upside for the remainder of their current period. A further 56 funds, 13% of the total, had their buffer already absorbing losses, and 2 funds had moved beyond that into buffer exhausted. The remaining 255 funds, 60%, were open, meaning price could still move within the cap and buffer without yet touching either edge.
For the median fund across all 426, the issuers' own numbers show 5.3% of further gain still available before the cap binds, and 4.6% of decline room before the buffer starts absorbing losses. Among issuers with medians reported, First Trust's 104 funds show a median remaining gain of 6.0% and a median fall-before-buffer of 5.7%. Innovator's 138 funds show 5.8% and 6.0%. AllianzIM's 56 funds show 5.1% and 4.4%. PGIM's 44 funds show 4.0% and 4.3%. iShares' 8 funds show 4.1% and 6.0%. Corgi, Calamos and TrueShares report fall-before-buffer numbers of 1.4%, 3.5% and 4.7% respectively, with no median gain data listed for those issuers. Expense ratios across issuers range from 0.30% at Corgi to 0.80% at Innovator, First Trust and TrueShares.
The reset calendar shows a clear pattern tied to how much time each period's index has had to run. Funds resetting soonest carry the least remaining cap because their reference index has had the most time to climb toward it. The 49 funds ending Sep 2026 show a median remaining gain of just 0.7%, alongside a median index move since period start of +11.3%, and 18 of those 49 are already at cap. The picture eases moving forward: Dec 2026's 39 funds show 3.1% median remaining gain, Mar 2027's 34 funds show 4.7% with a sharper +17.4% index move since start and 22 of 34 at cap. By contrast, periods resetting later carry fresher caps and more room. May 2027's 35 funds show 12.0% remaining gain with the index essentially flat since period start at +0.8%, and none at cap. Aug 2027's 26 funds show the widest remaining gain in the table, 14.5%, with the index down 0.4% since period start.
Readers can check the current band state, remaining cap and downside-before-buffer for any individual fund, along with its specific reset date, on the live desk.