Macro Summary
The Buffer ETF landscape currently commands $80.94 billion in assets under management across 457 individual ETFs and 20 distinct brands. For the week ending January 2, the channel recorded net inflows of $222 million, bringing the total year-to-date flows to $94 million.
Over the past rolling year, the channel has attracted a staggering $14.80 billion in net new money, underscoring the sustained trend of advisor adoption for defined-outcome strategies. Innovation remains a high priority for issuers, as evidenced by the launch of 23 new ETFs over the last three months alone.
Performance
Performance within the Buffer category remains idiosyncratic, largely dictated by the underlying security and the specific outcome period’s cap and floor structure. This past week, the Equity: Region – Asia-Pacific Emerging category led all segments with a Week-to-Date (WTD) return of 3.01%, followed closely by Digital Asset: Cryptocurrency – Bitcoin at 2.64%. Conversely, the Commodity: Focused – Precious Metals category was the weakest performer, shedding -6.03% WTD.
For a deeper dive into how individual funds are tracking relative to their caps, we encourage readers to download the full, free performance report in the right-side panel.
Flows
Equity-focused Buffer ETFs remain the primary driver of channel growth, accounting for $196 million of this week’s total inflows. The Laddered outcome period was the most active implementation style with $94 million in net new money, while the BUFR led all individual funds with a weekly haul of $50 million.
Flows by Asset Class
| Asset Class | # of Funds | AUM | WTD Flow | 1M Flow | 3M Flow | YTD Flow | 1Y Flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffer – Equity | 417 | $80,045M | $196M | $1,179M | $3,863M | $67M | $14,364M |
| Buffer Synthetic Income | 18 | $604M | $28M | $42M | $73M | $28M | $257M |
| Buffer – Commodity | 1 | $53M | $3M | $7M | $5M | $0M | $5M |
| Buffer – Crypto | 19 | $205M | -$4M | $20M | $49M | -$1M | $188M |
| Buffer – Fixed Income | 2 | $33M | $0M | -$2M | -$16M | $0M | -$17M |
Flows by Implementation (Outcome Period)
| Implementation | WTD Flow | 1M Flow | 3M Flow | YTD Flow | 1Y Flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inflows | |||||
| Buffer Reset: Laddered | $94M | $399M | $965M | $34M | $3,162M |
| Buffer Reset: December | $69M | $843M | $430M | $16M | $442M |
| Buffer Reset: Quarterly | $44M | $80M | $800M | $7M | $2,819M |
| Outflows | |||||
| Buffer Reset: February | -$23M | -$118M | -$349M | $0M | $796M |
| Buffer Reset: August | -$19M | -$58M | -$118M | -$22M | $456M |
| Buffer Reset: April | -$10M | -$6M | -$60M | -$7M | $379M |
Individual Fund Flows (WTD)
| Ticker | Fund Name | WTD Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Top 5 Inflows | ||
| BUFR | FT Vest Laddered Buffer ETF | $50M |
| SBAR | Simplify Barrier Income ETF | $27M |
| DDEC | FT Vest US Equity Deep Buffer ETF – December | $21M |
| PJAN | Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF – January | $21M |
| BUFC | AB Conservative Buffer ETF | $13M |
| Top 5 Outflows | ||
| PAUG | Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF – August | -$21M |
| PFEB | Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF – February | -$16M |
| EAPR | Innovator Emerging Markets Power Buffer ETF – April | -$4M |
| PNOV | Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF – November | -$4M |
| TENM | iShares Large Cap 10% Target Buffer Mar ETF | -$4M |
League Tables
The Buffer ETF market remains dominated by two major players, FT Vest and Innovator, which together account for roughly 86% of the channel’s total AUM. This week, FT Vest further solidified its lead with $169 million in weekly flows, while Innovator saw a slight net outflow of -$20 million.
Top 5 Issuers by AUM
| Issuer | # of ETFs | AUM | Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| FT Vest | 115 | $39.68B | 49.02% |
| Innovator | 154 | $29.83B | 36.86% |
| Allianz | 49 | $4.97B | 6.14% |
| AB Funds | 3 | $1.36B | 1.68% |
| Pacer | 13 | $1.24B | 1.54% |
Issuer Flows (WTD)
| Issuer | WTD Flow | 1M Flow | 3M Flow | YTD Flow | 1Y Flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inflows | |||||
| FT Vest | $169M | $746M | $1,650M | $40M | $5,630M |
| Simplify | $28M | $43M | $70M | $30M | $250M |
| Allianz | $14M | $58M | $100M | $10M | $1,230M |
| Outflows | |||||
| Innovator | -$20M | $128M | $1,240M | $10M | $5,210M |
| Calamos | -$2M | $27M | $10M | $0M | $280M |
| KraneShares | $0M | $0M | $0M | $0M | $0M |
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Disclosures
This material is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. All investments, including ETFs, involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Investors should consider their investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing.
This analysis was developed by the team at ETF Action. We leverage advanced AI tools to assist in the drafting and refinement of our content, based on our expert prompts, direction, and final review.
