Buffer ETFs track a market index but limit both gains and losses over a set period, usually a year, through options built into the fund. Each fund has a cap on how much it can gain and a buffer that absorbs losses down to a set level before the investor takes on further declines. As of Oct 2, 2026, the data covers 419 such funds across 7 issuers.
Of these, 110 funds, or 26%, sat at their cap, meaning the underlying index has already risen far enough that the fund has no further upside left in index terms for this period. Another 281 funds, or 67%, remained open, with room left to rise before hitting their cap. A smaller group, 27 funds, had their buffer already absorbing losses, and one fund had its buffer exhausted, meaning losses beyond the buffer are being passed to the investor.
By issuer, the share of funds at cap varied. First Trust had 36 of its 104 funds at cap, and Innovator had 35 of 138. AllianzIM and PGIM, with 57 and 44 funds respectively, had none in buffer-working state, while Corgi's 36 funds had 7 in that state despite none at cap. Calamos had 14 of its 32 funds at cap and 4 with buffers working. Across issuers, the median fund could still gain between 4.8% and 7.2% before hitting its cap, and median expense ratios ranged from 0.30% for Corgi to 0.80% for Innovator and First Trust.
Looking at the full set of 419 funds, the median fund could still gain 5.9% from its current price and could fall 4.0% before its buffer would begin absorbing losses, based on the issuers' own published data.
The reset calendar shows a pattern tied to how much time has passed since each fund's period began. Funds resetting soonest, such as the 27 funds ending Oct 2026, had the least room left to gain, a median of just 1.1%, with 14 of those 27 already at cap. This reflects that their underlying index has had the most time to climb toward the cap. By contrast, funds with resets further out, such as the 34 funds ending Aug 2027, carried a median remaining gain of 14.0%, with none yet at cap, since their caps were set more recently and the index has had less time to move. The index moves since each period began also varied widely, from a gain of 18.3% for the Mar 2027 cohort to a gain of just 0.3% for the Aug 2027 cohort.
Readers can check the live desk for the current band state of any individual fund, including whether it sits at cap, open, or inside its buffer, alongside its specific cap and buffer levels as of today's date.