Macro Summary
The Buffer ETF landscape continues its steady ascent, finishing the week with total Assets Under Management (AUM) of $82.4B across 462 individual ETFs and 20 distinct issuers. The category saw healthy investor demand over the past five days, recording net inflows of $270M, which brings the year-to-date (YTD) total to a robust $1.10B.
Looking at the broader trajectory, the Buffer channel has attracted $14.02B in net new money over the past year, reflecting a powerful trend of adoption as investors seek defined outcome strategies. Product innovation remains aggressive to meet this demand, evidenced by the 15 new ETFs launched in just the last three months.
Performance
Performance across the Buffer space remained highly idiosyncratic this week, dictated primarily by the movement of the underlying reference assets. The strongest returns were found in the Commodity: Focused – Precious Metals category, which delivered a significant Week-to-Date (WTD) return of 10.35%. Conversely, Digital Asset: Cryptocurrency – Bitcoin was the primary laggard, declining -5.74% over the same period.
The core Equity: U.S. Large Cap – Blend segment, which houses the vast majority of category assets, saw a modest decline of -0.35%. For a detailed breakdown of how individual caps and floors impacted returns across different outcome periods, please refer to the full, free performance report available in the right-side panel.
Flows
Flow activity this week was dominated by U.S. Equities, which accounted for nearly all the net new money at $269M. From an implementation perspective, the “January” outcome period was by far the most active as investors realigned portfolios for the new year, while UJAN emerged as the top individual fund flow leader with $64M in weekly creations.
Flows by Asset Class
| Asset Class | # of Funds | AUM | WTD Flow | 1M Flow | 3M Flow | YTD Flow | 1Y Flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffer – Equity | 422 | $81,503M | $269M | $699M | $3,814M | $1,047M | $13,605M |
| Buffer – Synthetic Income | 18 | $632M | $6M | $56M | $104M | $54M | $277M |
| Buffer – Crypto | 19 | $206M | ($1M) | ($1M) | $36M | $0M | $157M |
| Buffer – Commodity | 1 | $53M | ($5M) | ($1M) | $14M | ($4M) | ($1M) |
| Buffer – Fixed Income | 2 | $31M | $0M | ($2M) | ($27M) | ($1M) | ($19M) |
Flows by Implementation (Outcome Period)
| Implementation | WTD Flow | 1M Flow | 3M Flow | YTD Flow | 1Y Flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inflows | |||||
| Buffer Reset: January | $372M | $1,005M | $1,043M | $1,246M | $927M |
| Buffer Reset: December | $68M | $373M | $746M | $274M | $296M |
| Buffer Reset: Quarterly | $39M | $140M | $622M | $88M | $2,635M |
| Outflows | |||||
| Buffer Reset: August | ($121M) | ($178M) | ($238M) | ($170M) | $379M |
| Buffer Reset: July | ($23M) | ($155M) | ($646M) | ($145M) | $486M |
| Buffer Reset: February | ($22M) | ($141M) | ($331M) | ($60M) | $593M |
Individual Fund Flows (WTD)
| Ticker | Fund Name | WTD Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Top 5 Inflows | ||
| UJAN | Innovator U.S. Equity Ultra Buffer ETF – January | $64M |
| FJAN | FT Vest US Equity Buffer ETF – January | $60M |
| DJAN | FT Vest US Equity Deep Buffer ETF – January | $53M |
| PJAN | Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF – January | $50M |
| GJAN | FT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF – Jan | $40M |
| Top 5 Outflows | ||
| UAUG | Innovator U.S. Equity Ultra Buffer ETF – August | ($61M) |
| PAUG | Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF – August | ($34M) |
| BAUG | Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF – August | ($27M) |
| YSEP | FT Vest International Equity Moderate Buffer ETF – Sept | ($12M) |
| FFEB | FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer Fund – February | ($10M) |
League Tables
The competitive landscape remains top-heavy, with FT Vest and Innovator controlling a combined market share of over 85%. FT Vest maintained its top position by total AUM ($40.30B) and significantly led the week in flows with $202M in net new money, while Innovator followed with $24M in weekly creations.
Top 5 Issuers by AUM
| Issuer | # of ETFs | AUM | Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| FT Vest | 116 | $40.30B | 48.89% |
| Innovator | 158 | $30.39B | 36.87% |
| Allianz | 49 | $5.05B | 6.12% |
| AB Funds | 3 | $1.39B | 1.69% |
| Pacer | 13 | $1.26B | 1.52% |
Issuer Flows (WTD)
| Issuer | WTD Flow | 1M Flow | 3M Flow | YTD Flow | 1Y Flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inflows | |||||
| FT Vest | $202M | $304M | $1,790M | $390M | $5,600M |
| Innovator | $24M | $389M | $1,140M | $410M | $4,860M |
| PGIM | $14M | $106M | $260M | $80M | $510M |
| Outflows | |||||
| Calamos | -$1M | -$16M | $20M | ($10M) | $190M |
| BufferLABS | -$1M | $3M | – | $0M | $60M |
| KraneShares | $0M | $2M | – | $0M | $0M |
Explore the data behind the insights. This weekly recap is just the start. Access the complete, in-depth reports for FREE in the right side panel to analyze performance, track flows, and view the latest league tables.
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.
