Macro Summary
The Buffer ETF landscape continues to show significant resilience and scale, reaching a total AUM of $85.3 billion across 467 ETFs and 20 different issuers. Over the past week, the channel attracted $176 million in net new money, contributing to a year-to-date total of $2.30 billion.
Looking at the longer-term trajectory, the category has seen a massive $13.85 billion in net inflows over the past year. This growth is supported by a steady stream of innovation, with 14 new ETFs launched in the last three months alone, reflecting the industry’s commitment to providing diverse risk-management tools for investors.
Performance
Performance in the Buffer category remains idiosyncratic, largely dictated by the movement of the underlying indices and the specific timing of the outcome periods. For the week ending February 20, the Equity: Region – Asia-Pacific Emerging category led the way with a 2.35% return, followed closely by Equity: Emerging Large Cap at 2.08%. Conversely, the Digital Asset: Cryptocurrency – Bitcoin category was the weakest performer, falling -1.64%, while Fixed Income: Taxable – Government Long saw a slight decline of -0.25%.
We encourage investors to look beyond the top-line numbers to understand how individual funds are tracking relative to their caps and buffers. For a detailed breakdown of current returns across all outcome periods, please refer to the full, free performance report available in the right-side panel.
Flows
Equity-based Buffer ETFs remained the dominant driver of flows this week, securing $169 million in net inflows. From an implementation standpoint, laddered strategies and February outcome periods were the most active, attracting $85 million and $74 million respectively. On an individual fund level, BUFR emerged as the weekly leader, bringing in $40 million.
Flows by Asset Class
| Asset Class | # of Funds | AUM | WTD Flow | 1M Flow | 3M Flow | YTD Flow | 1Y Flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffer – Equity | 426 | $84,314M | $169M | $1,253M | $2,624M | $2,199M | $13,421M |
| Buffer – Synthetic Income | 18 | $689M | $11M | $64M | $137M | $117M | $345M |
| Buffer – Crypto | 20 | $182M | $0M | ($9M) | $13M | ($7M) | $84M |
| Buffer – Commodity | 1 | $47M | ($4M) | ($10M) | $8M | ($9M) | $2M |
| Buffer – Fixed Income | 2 | $31M | $0M | ($1M) | ($4M) | ($2M) | ($5M) |
Flows by Implementation (Outcome Period)
| Implementation | WTD Flow | 1M Flow | 3M Flow | YTD Flow | 1Y Flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inflows | |||||
| Buffer Reset: Laddered | $85M | $372M | $1,067M | $594M | $3,151M |
| Buffer Reset: February | $74M | $463M | $283M | $417M | $545M |
| Buffer Reset: Quarterly | $39M | $374M | $500M | $436M | $2,721M |
| Outflows | |||||
| Buffer Reset: June | ($50M) | ($67M) | ($160M) | ($153M) | $136M |
| Buffer Reset: Semi-Annually | ($42M) | ($42M) | ($33M) | ($38M) | $94M |
| Buffer Reset: March | ($11M) | ($66M) | ($105M) | ($106M) | $520M |
Individual Fund Flows (WTD)
| Ticker | Fund Name | WTD Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Top 5 Inflows | ||
| BUFR | FT Vest Laddered Buffer ETF | $40M |
| PFEB | Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF – February | $23M |
| BUFM | AB Moderate Buffer ETF | $15M |
| BUFC | AB Conservative Buffer ETF | $14M |
| SBAR | Simplify Barrier Income ETF | $12M |
| Top 5 Outflows | ||
| PJUN | Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF – June | ($42M) |
| APOC | Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF – 6mo Apr/Oct | ($40M) |
| FMAR | FT Vest US Equity Buffer ETF – March | ($10M) |
| NJUN | Innovator Growth-100 Power Buffer ETF – June | ($9M) |
| BSEP | Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF – September | ($4M) |
League Tables
The competitive landscape is firmly led by FT Vest and Innovator, which together command over 85% of the total market share. FT Vest remains the top issuer with $42.15 billion in AUM and strong weekly momentum, posting $103 million in weekly flows. Innovator maintains a solid second position with $30.85 billion in AUM, despite seeing a slight outflow of -$19 million over the past week.
Top 5 Issuers by AUM
| Issuer | # of ETFs | AUM | Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| FT Vest | 117 | $42.15B | 49.44% |
| Innovator | 160 | $30.85B | 36.18% |
| Allianz | 50 | $5.31B | 6.22% |
| AB Funds | 3 | $1.46B | 1.71% |
| Pacer | 13 | $1.27B | 1.49% |
Issuer Flows (WTD)
| Issuer | WTD Flow | 1M Flow | 3M Flow | YTD Flow | 1Y Flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inflows | |||||
| FT Vest | $103M | $455M | $0.68B | $0.81B | $5.26B |
| AB Funds | $35M | $76M | $0.14B | $0.09B | $0.51B |
| PGIM | $27M | $100M | $0.30B | $0.17B | $0.56B |
| Outflows | |||||
| Innovator | ($19M) | $435M | $1.02B | $0.82B | $5.06B |
| TrueShares | ($1M) | $2M | $0.03B | $0.01B | $0.19B |
| Goldman Sachs | $0M | ($1M) | $0.00B | ($0.02B) | $0.01B |
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.
