Buffer ETFs track a stock index but use options to limit both gains and losses over a set period, usually a year. Each fund has a cap on how much it can rise and a buffer that absorbs losses down to a set point before the investor takes over. As of Oct 22, 2026, data across 431 such funds from 8 issuers show where each one sits relative to those limits.
85 funds, or 20% of the total, were sitting at their cap, meaning their underlying index has already risen far enough that these funds have no further upside left for the current period. Another 87 funds, also 20%, had their buffer absorbing losses, meaning the index has fallen enough to use up part of the downside protection. One fund had its buffer exhausted entirely. The remaining 258 funds, 60% of the total, were open, with room to move in either direction before hitting a cap or a buffer. For the median fund, that meant room to gain 6.4% before hitting its cap and room to fall 3.8% before the buffer starts working, based on the issuers' own published data.
The picture varies by issuer. Innovator, the largest with 138 funds, had 25 at cap and 29 with buffers working, with a median remaining gain of 7.7% and median fall before buffer of 4.6%. First Trust, with 104 funds, had 24 at cap and 22 with buffers working, median remaining gain of 6.8% and median fall before buffer of 5.1%. AllianzIM's 57 funds showed a tighter median fall before buffer, 2.7%, against a median remaining gain of 5.7%. PGIM, Corgi, Calamos, TrueShares, and iShares round out the list with varying mixes of funds at cap and funds with buffers working, and expense ratios ranging from 0.30% for Corgi to 0.80% for Innovator, First Trust, and TrueShares.
Looking ahead by reset month shows a pattern tied to how long each fund's current period has run. Funds resetting soonest, in October and November 2026, had the smallest median remaining gain, 1.7% and 2.0% respectively, because their underlying indexes have had the most time to climb toward the cap already set. The March 2027 group shows the clearest case, with 24 of 37 funds at cap and a median index move since the period started of +17.4%. By contrast, funds resetting further out, such as August and September 2027, show median index moves of −0.4% and +0.1% since their periods began, leaving more room before any cap, with median remaining gains of 14.3% and 15.0%.
Readers can check the specific cap, buffer level, and time remaining for any individual fund on ETFIQ's fund pages.