Across the buffer ETF category, 430 funds from 8 issuers were tracked as of Oct 16, 2026. Of these, 92 funds, or 21% of the group, had reached their cap, meaning the index they track has risen far enough that those funds have no further upside left for the current period. Another 82 funds, close to 19% of the total, had their buffer already absorbing losses, with one fund showing its buffer exhausted. The remaining 255 funds, 59% of the group, were in an open state, with room to move before hitting either boundary. For the median fund across the category, the issuers' own numbers show room to gain 6.3% before reaching its cap, and room to fall 3.9% before its buffer starts working.
The by-issuer breakdown shows a spread in where funds stand. Innovator, with 138 funds, had 27 at cap and 29 with buffers working, and its median fund could still gain 7.8% with 4.6% of downside before the buffer engages. First Trust, with 104 funds, had a similar number at cap, 29, but fewer with buffers active, 20; its median remaining gain was lower at 6.0%, while its median downside cushion was wider at 5.8%. AllianzIM's 57 funds showed only 6 at cap but 12 with buffers working, and a tighter median downside cushion of 2.6%. PGIM and Calamos each had 13 funds at cap out of 44 and 32 respectively, though PGIM's median remaining gain of 4.9% sat above Calamos, which did not report a comparable number. Corgi, with 36 funds, had just 1 at cap and the smallest median downside cushion in the table, 1.7%. TrueShares, with 11 funds, had none at cap and none with buffers working. iShares, the smallest group with 8 funds, had 3 at cap and a median downside cushion of 3.9%, matching the category median.
Looking ahead by reset month, the data shows a pattern tied to how long each fund's current period has run. Funds resetting soonest, such as the 25 funds ending in Oct 2026 and 29 ending in Nov 2026, carry the smallest median remaining gains, 1.1% and 2.1% respectively, alongside large median index moves since their period began, +11.9% and +11.7%. This reflects that these funds have had the most time for their tracked index to climb toward the cap. By contrast, funds resetting furthest out, such as the 26 ending in Aug 2027 and 35 ending in Sep 2027, show much larger median remaining gains, 14.4% and 15.0%, with median index moves since period start close to flat, −0.5% and +0.1%. The Mar 2027 cohort stands out within this pattern, with 37 funds, 24 of them already at cap, and a median index move since period start of +17.4%, the largest in the twelve-month table.
Readers can check the current band state, remaining cap, and downside cushion for any individual fund on ETFIQ's fund pages.