Across 427 buffer ETFs from 8 issuers, 94 funds sat at their cap on Oct 1, 2026, meaning the index underlying those funds has risen enough this period that, in index terms, there is no further upside left before the next reset. Another 55 funds had their buffer already absorbing losses, with one fund shown as having exhausted its buffer entirely. The remaining 278 funds were open, with room to move in either direction before touching their cap or their buffer. By share of the total, that split is 22% at cap, 65% open, 13% with the buffer working, and under 1% exhausted.
Looking at the typical fund rather than any single one, the median fund could still gain 6.3% from its current price before reaching its cap, and could fall 3.7% before its buffer would begin absorbing losses. These numbers come from the issuers' own published terms and are stated in fund-price terms, net of fees.
The issuer breakdown shows meaningful differences in how funds are positioned. First Trust, with 104 funds, had 31 at cap and 18 with buffers working, the most of any issuer in both categories. Innovator, the largest issuer by fund count at 138, had 29 at cap and 16 with buffers working, with a median fund still able to gain 7.5% and able to fall 4.5% before its buffer starts. AllianzIM's 57 funds showed a smaller median fall before buffer, at 2.5%, alongside the lowest median expense ratio among issuers with gain numbers shown, 0.70%. Corgi and TrueShares did not report a median gain number, shown as "·" in the table, though Corgi's 36 funds showed a median fall before buffer of just 0.7%, the smallest such number among all issuers listed. PGIM's median expense ratio of 0.50% was tied with iShares as the lowest in the table.
The reset calendar for the next twelve months shows how remaining upside shifts with time to reset. Funds resetting soonest, such as the 28 in Oct 2026 and 27 in Nov 2026, carry the smallest median remaining gains, 1.6% and 2.4% respectively, alongside the highest counts at cap relative to their size, 12 of each. This reflects that their underlying index has had the most time within the current period to climb toward the cap. By contrast, funds resetting furthest out, including 39 in May 2027 and 43 in June 2027, show larger median remaining gains, 12.1% and 13.2%, with only one fund at cap in each group, since their fresh caps were set more recently relative to the measurement date. The Mar 2027 group stands out with 35 funds and 20 at cap, alongside the largest median index move since period start among the twelve-month table, +17.3%.
Readers can check the live desk for the current cap and buffer levels of any individual fund by ticker, and confirm which band state, at cap, open, buffer working, or buffer exhausted, applies on today's date.