{"url":"https://etfiq.com/trading/buffer-resets/","section":"trading","title":"Buffer ETFs: Reset Day and Buying Mid-Period | ETFIQ","description":"As of Oct 22, 2026, 28 buffer ETFs reach the end of their outcome period in the next 30 days, the first on Oct 30, 2026. Not advice.","as_of":"Oct 22, 2026","structured_data":[{"@type":"Article","headline":"Buffer ETFs: reset day and buying mid-period","url":"https://etfiq.com/trading/buffer-resets/","dateModified":"2026-10-22","author":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"},"publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"},"about":"ETF trading","isAccessibleForFree":true},{"@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is a buffer ETF?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"A fund that uses options to limit losses over a set period, in exchange for a cap on gains."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How does a buffered ETF work?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It holds options set on reset day. They absorb a stated loss and limit gains to the cap, over the full period."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What is a laddered buffer ETF?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"A fund that holds several buffer ETFs with different reset months."}}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"ETFIQ","item":"https://etfiq.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Trading","item":"https://etfiq.com/trading/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Buffer ETFs: reset day and buying mid-peri...","item":"https://etfiq.com/trading/buffer-resets/"}]},{"@type":"WebPage","name":"Buffer ETFs: Reset Day and Buying Mid-Period","description":"As of Oct 22, 2026, 28 buffer ETFs reach the end of their outcome period in the next 30 days, the first on Oct 30, 2026. Not advice.","url":"https://etfiq.com/trading/buffer-resets/","dateModified":"2026-10-22","isPartOf":{"@type":"WebSite","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".lede",".faq"]},"publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"}}],"characters":3491,"truncated":false,"content":"ETFIQ / Trading / Buffer ETFs: reset day and buying mid-peri... \n \n Figures as of Oct 22, 2026.\n Buffer ETFs: reset day and buying mid-period\n As of Oct 22, 2026, 28 buffer ETFs reach the end of their outcome period in the next 30 days, the first on Oct 30, 2026.\n A buffer ETF uses options to limit losses over a set outcome period, often one year.\n In exchange, it caps gains.\n Both terms are set on reset day, the first day of the period.\n Reset day\n The fund replaces its expiring options with a new set.\n The buffer size is usually fixed by the fund\u2019s design. The cap depends on option prices that day.\n Buying mid-period\n The stated buffer and cap apply in full only from the start of the period to its end.\n A buyer mid-period starts from today\u2019s price, not reset day\u2019s.\n If the market has risen, less room is left under the cap, and losses can start before the buffer.\n BALT has 70 days left in its period. From its Oct 22, 2026 price, it can gain 2.2% more before its cap, and fall 0.3% before its buffer.\n Selling mid-period\n A seller mid-period receives the market price, not the outcome at the period\u2019s end.\n Trading costs\n 300 buffer ETFs had a median 30-day spread of 0.21% to Oct 22, 2026.\n The fair limit is midpoint + X\u00a2 to buy, midpoint \u2212 X\u00a2 to sell.\n X is half the fund\u2019s typical spread in cents, rounded up, and never less than 1\u00a2.\n Live \u00b7 28 periods ending \u00b7 Oct 22, 2026 \n 28\n Buffer ETFs whose outcome period ends in the 30 days after Oct 22, 2026.\n Periods ending in the next 30 days 28 First period end, Oct 30, 2026 2 funds BALT can gain before its cap 2.2% BALT can fall before its buffer 0.3% Buffer ETFs\u2019 median 30-day spread 0.21% Issuer terms and prices to Oct 22, 2026; issuer spreads to Oct 22, 2026 \u00b7 ETFIQ\n Related funds\n BALT trading costs CPSN trading costs NOVZ trading costs BNOV trading costs Related rankings\n ETFs whose full cost to own is far above the fee Questions people ask\n What is a buffer ETF? A fund that uses options to limit losses over a set period, in exchange for a cap on gains. How does a buffered ETF work? It holds options set on reset day. They absorb a stated loss and limit gains to the cap, over the full period. What is a laddered buffer ETF? A fund that holds several buffer ETFs with different reset months. Where to next\n ETF trading costs and liquidity Limit orders vs market orders for ETFs Why low volume does not mean illiquid Premiums and discounts to NAV International ETFs when the home market is closed Bond ETFs in a sell-off Stop orders and Aug 24, 2015 Leveraged and inverse ETFs: trading costs on top of decay Trading a new ETF in its first weeks Ex-dividend days and income ETFs How to read the IQ Liquidity Score How the IQ Liquidity Score is built A guide to trading conditions, not advice. ETFIQ makes no recommendations. Standards and sources \n Cite this page. ETFIQ, Buffer ETFs: reset day and buying mid-period, data as of Oct 22, 2026. https://etfiq.com/trading/buffer-resets/ Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms. The underlying files are at Open data .\n Other forms Plain ETFIQ, Buffer ETFs: reset day and buying mid-period, data as of Oct 22, 2026. https://etfiq.com/trading/buffer-resets/ APA ETFIQ. (Oct 22, 2026). Buffer ETFs: reset day and buying mid-period. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/trading/buffer-resets/ Markdown [Buffer ETFs: reset day and buying mid-period (ETFIQ, Oct 22, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/trading/buffer-resets/)","source":"ETFIQ, independent ETF data. Recomputed nightly from public filings and prices.","publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"license":"https://etfiq.com/license/","license_text":"Figures ETFIQ computes are free to use with attribution: ETFIQ (etfiq.com). Issuer data stays under its owner's terms.","citation":"ETFIQ, Buffer ETFs: reset day and buying mid-period, data as of Oct 22, 2026. https://etfiq.com/trading/buffer-resets/"}