Macro Summary & Product Growth
The Buffer ETF landscape continues to command significant market presence, holding $92B across 502 ETFs from 19 different issuers. Investor appetite remains incredibly robust, with weekly net flows clocking in at a strong $0.64B. This recent surge pushes the year-to-date inflows to $7.13B and elevates the 1-year total to an impressive $13.71B.
The space is expanding at a breakneck pace, evidenced by the staggering 48 new ETFs launched over just the past three months. Issuers are aggressively flooding the market to provide granular outcome variations across new underlying asset classes, customized downside buffer levels, and distinct outcome periods, ensuring a product fit for nearly every highly specific risk-return appetite.
Performance (Idiosyncratic Returns)
Performance in the Defined Outcome channel is highly idiosyncratic. Returns are dictated heavily by a fund’s current proximity to its upside cap and downside buffer, rather than acting as a strict delta-one proxy to the underlying asset. For the week, underlying asset categories displayed widely varied performance. Fixed Income: Taxable – Government Long stood out as the most resilient category at -0.51%, while Digital Asset: Cryptocurrency – Bitcoin dragged as the weakest link, tumbling -18.71%.
Because these ETFs use dynamic options overlays, point-in-time metrics are critical for evaluating true risk-adjusted exposure. Explore the complete, free performance report in the right-side panel to see the detailed return profiles for every fund tracking top securities and analyze how they match up against category beta trackers.
Flow Cyclicality & Trends
Flows this week followed textbook defined-outcome cyclicality, with investors aggressively rotating capital into funds at the exact start of their outcome period. June reset funds absorbed the vast majority of new money, while past outcome periods like October and May leaked assets as they drifted further from their initial option strike parameters. The broader Equity asset class completely dominated the landscape, driven heavily by top individual flow leader SIXD which pulled in massive capital on its own.
Flows by Asset Class
| Asset Class | # of Funds | AUM | WTD Flow | 1M Flow | 3M Flow | YTD Flow | 1Y Flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffer – Equity | 468 | $91,978M | $476M | $1,351M | $4,368M | $6,981M | $13,545M |
| Buffer – Crypto | 20 | $183M | $2M | $3M | $6M | -$2M | $58M |
| Buffer – Commodity | 1 | $51M | $0M | -$1M | $6M | -$3M | -$14M |
| Buffer – Fixed Income | 2 | $26M | -$4M | -$5M | -$5M | -$7M | -$43M |
Flows by Outcome Period / Strategy
| Implementation | WTD Flow | 1M Flow | 3M Flow | YTD Flow | 1Y Flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 3 Inflows | |||||
| Buffer Reset: June | $943M | $927M | $1,030M | $859M | $859M |
| Buffer Reset: Laddered | $79M | $390M | $1,359M | $2,059M | $4,061M |
| Buffer Reset: Quarterly | $41M | $347M | $813M | $1,331M | $2,769M |
| Top 3 Outflows | |||||
| Buffer Reset: October | -$239M | -$290M | -$583M | -$812M | $548M |
| Buffer Reset: May | -$158M | $711M | $1,718M | $1,665M | $1,587M |
| Buffer Reset: September | -$108M | -$248M | -$383M | -$623M | $863M |
Individual Fund Flows (WTD)
| Ticker | Fund Name | WTD Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Top 5 Inflows | ||
| SIXD | AllianzIM U.S. Equity 6 Month Buffer10 Jun/Dec ETF | $335M |
| JUNW | AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer20 Jun ETF | $277M |
| PJUN | Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF – June | $181M |
| BJUN | Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF – June | $110M |
| JUNT | AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer10 Jun ETF | $80M |
| Top 5 Outflows | ||
| SIXZ | AllianzIM U.S. Equity 6 Month Buffer10 May/Nov ETF | -$300M |
| OCTW | AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer20 Oct ETF | -$207M |
| PMAY | Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF – May | -$92M |
| SEPT | AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer 10 Sep ETF | -$71M |
| MAYW | AllianzIM U.S. Equity Buffer20 May ETF | -$45M |
League Tables
The competitive environment remains highly concentrated at the top. FT Vest retains the AUM crown with $45.21B and a staggering 48.93% market share, closely chased by Innovator at $33.88B. Notably, Innovator claimed the top spot for weekly momentum, generating $342M in weekly inflows to edge out FT Vest’s $145M, signaling an ongoing and vigorous battle for dominance among the category pioneers.
Top 5 Issuers by AUM
| Issuer | # of ETFs | AUM | Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| FT Vest | 119 | $45.21B | 48.93% |
| Innovator | 160 | $33.88B | 36.67% |
| Allianz | 58 | $5.70B | 6.17% |
| AB Funds | 3 | $1.60B | 1.73% |
| PGIM | 43 | $1.35B | 1.46% |
Issuer Flows (WTD)
| Issuer | WTD Flow | 1M Flow | 3M Flow | YTD Flow | 1Y Flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 3 Inflows | |||||
| Innovator | $342M | $596M | $1.59B | $2.56B | $4.75B |
| FT Vest | $145M | $686M | $2.07B | $3.06B | $6.01B |
| PGIM | $57M | $155M | $0.32B | $0.50B | $0.80B |
| Top 3 Outflows | |||||
| AB Funds | -$6M | $13M | $0.07B | $0.19B | $0.38B |
| iShares | -$4M | -$182M | -$0.15B | -$0.07B | $0.08B |
| Pacer | -$1M | $2M | -$0.01B | $0.01B | $0.05B |
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.
