Across the 430 buffer ETFs from 8 issuers tracked on Oct 15, 2026, 104 funds, or 24%, sat at their cap, meaning the index they track has already risen far enough this period that those funds have no further upside left under their stated terms. Another 57 funds, 13% of the total, had their buffer absorbing losses, and one fund had its buffer exhausted. The remaining 268 funds, 62%, were open, with room to move in either direction before hitting a cap or using up a buffer. For the median fund across all 430, the issuer-published data show 6.0% of further gain still available and 4.0% of further decline before the buffer would start to work, both measured in fund-price terms.
The by-issuer breakdown shows a wide range. Innovator, with 138 funds, had 34 at cap and 23 with buffers working, and its median fund could still gain 7.3% with 4.9% of room before the buffer starts. First Trust's 104 funds had 31 at cap and a median gain room of 5.6% against a larger 6.2% cushion before buffer. AllianzIM, PGIM, Calamos, TrueShares and iShares show smaller fund counts and different mixes; Corgi and TrueShares had no funds at cap, though Corgi's 36 funds show no median gain data and a thinner 1.4% cushion before buffer. Expense ratios by issuer range from 0.30% for Corgi to 0.80% for Innovator, First Trust and TrueShares.
Looking ahead by reset month, the data illustrates how remaining headroom shifts as each fund's period has had more or less time for its index to move. Funds resetting soonest show the least remaining cap room: the 25 funds ending Oct 2026 have a median gain capacity of just 0.7%, and their index has already moved +12.8% since the period started, with 13 of the 25 already at cap. The pattern eases through the months in between, bottoming out around Apr 2027, where median remaining gain room is 7.2% against a smaller +7.1% index move since start. Funds with the furthest resets, running May through Sep 2027, show the most headroom, with median gain capacity ranging from 11.3% to 14.6% and index moves since period start of 3.0% or less, consistent with freshly reset terms. These later cohorts also show very few funds at cap, from zero up to three, out of fund counts in the mid-to-high 30s.
Taken together, the tables describe a snapshot of where each buffer ETF sits relative to its own stated terms on this date, not a forecast of what any fund will do next. Readers can look up an individual fund's current price, its specific cap and buffer level, and its reset date on ETFIQ's fund pages.