Methodology
What the screener measures, where the numbers come from, and what the score does and does not mean.
What is being ranked
Buffered ETFs, also called defined-outcome ETFs, from Innovator, First Trust, AllianzIM and Calamos. Each fund has an outcome period, usually a year, a cap on gains and a buffer against losses, all set when the period began. A buyer part way through the period does not get those launch terms; they get what is left. The screener ranks funds by what is left for a purchase at today's price.
Products with a different payoff shape (accelerated, premium income, dual direction, digital return) are listed on the All ETFs page but are not scored, because the formula below would not describe them fairly. Funds with fewer than 30 days left in their period are not ranked either.
Where the numbers come from
- Cap, buffer and loss before buffer are read from each issuer's own website every four hours. Nothing is estimated where the issuer publishes a figure.
- Prices come from Yahoo Finance with each refresh, as do three months of daily trading volume.
- Fees. Innovator and Calamos quote their headline figures before fees; First Trust and AllianzIM after. The screener shows every cap and buffer after the fees still to be charged in the period, so funds are compared on the same footing.
- As of. Each page states when the issuer figures were last refreshed. When an issuer's site stops answering, its funds are marked and their figures greyed rather than hidden or guessed.
The score
Each ranked fund gets a score from 0 to 10, the weighted sum of four parts. The weights are fixed and the same for every fund. Every card in the screener opens to show the four parts.
| Part | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Upside potential | 40% | How much cap is left from today's price, judged half against the fund's original cap and half against a benchmark for its outcome period (20% for a one-year fund). The cap is not annualized. |
| Entry point | 30% | How far the fund could fall from today's price before the buffer starts protecting you. Protection from the first dollar scores 10; a gap of 7.5% or more scores 0. |
| Buffer depth | 15% | How much protection the buffer provides. A 20% buffer or more scores 10. |
| Risk/reward | 15% | How much cap the fund offers for its level of protection, ranked against funds with a similar buffer on the same index. |
When a part cannot be measured for a fund, for example an uncapped fund has no cap, the remaining weights are scaled up so the score stays out of 10, and the card says which part is missing. Ties are broken by fewer days remaining, then ticker.
What the score is not
The score is the output of the formula above and nothing else. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell, not a prediction of return, and not a judgment of suitability for any client. A higher score means a more attractive profile according to this formula, measured today; it says nothing about where the market goes next. Results change daily as prices and remaining terms change, and any figure here can differ from the issuer's own page, which is the one to rely on before trading.
Limitations we know about
- Funds with 100% protection score well on buffer depth by construction.
- Issuers report "loss before buffer" on slightly different fee conventions; the screener shows each as the issuer reports it.
- Volume figures come from exchange trading and do not capture the liquidity that market makers provide by creating shares.
- Four issuers are covered today. Others may be added.
Who runs it
The screener was built by Tom Yorke, a financial advisor who uses buffered ETFs with his own clients, and his daughter Jessie Yorke, a product manager. It is free while in beta and carries no issuer's or firm's sponsorship. Questions and corrections are welcome through the Feedback button in the screener.