SMAX iShares Large Cap Max Buffer Sep ETF

ETF

ETF quote, holdings, sector allocation, technicals, and options analytics. Fibonacci levels

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SMAX — —
Key stats
About

iShares Large Cap Max Buffer Sep ETF (SMAX) ETF

No description available.

Exchange
BATS
Inception
2024-09-30
Has Options
No
Homepage
https://www.ishares.com/us
Fund profile
holdings as of Oct 20, 2026issuer datathrough Jul 2026flows, SEC filings
Defined-outcome fund. The stated cap and buffer apply only from the first day of the outcome period to its last; buying in between gives different terms. See what is left in the ETF lab.
Expense ratio
0.50%
issuer, Oct 22, 2026
Assets
$119M
issuer-reported, Oct 20, 2026
Trailing yield
0.92%
paid annual
Average daily volume
$2.0M
30 sessions
Holdings
7
top 10 are 103.3%
Listed
Sep 30, 2024
Cboe BZX
Net asset value
$28.60
issuer, Oct 21, 2026 · closed +0.09% to NAV
Median bid/ask spread
0.14%
30 days, issuer-reported
30-day SEC yield
0.74%
issuer, Sep 30, 2026
Return on NAV, 1 year
+7.3%
issuer, through Sep 30, 2026
Distributions, 12 months
$0.26 a share
issuer, through Dec 23, 2025: 80% income · 20% capital gains
Closure risk, 12 months
1.4%
low: age · model
FrenzyCap ETF score
45
how it is built
Cost80
Liquidity43
Scale34
Diversification0

Moves with. US large-cap stocks (68% of its variance, beta 0.18). These factors explain 70% of its daily moves over the last year.

Stated objective. The iShares Large Cap Max Buffer Sep ETF (the Fund ) seeks to track the share price return of the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (the Underlying Fund ) up to an approximate upside limit, while seeking to maximize the downside protection against price declines of the Underlying Fund over an approximate 12-month period beginning at the end of each September. (from the fund's prospectus)

All 7 holdingsFlow historyOverlap toolAll Buffer ETFs

Fund flows
daily as of Oct 20, 2026issuer datathrough Jul 2026SEC filings
Oct 20, 2026
$0
latest day
Latest 5 trading days
−$1K
Latest 21 trading days
+$30M
+25.0% of assets
Year to date
−$4.2M
+$17M over 12 months
Each day
Net creations of SMAX by day, Sep 22, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026
DayNet flow
Oct 20, 2026$0
Oct 19, 2026$0
Oct 16, 2026+$1.1M
Oct 15, 2026$0
Oct 14, 2026−$1.1M
Oct 13, 2026+$3.4M
Oct 12, 2026−$3.4M
Oct 9, 2026$0
Oct 8, 2026$0
Oct 7, 2026+$8.0M
Oct 6, 2026+$1.1M
Oct 5, 2026+$9.1M
Oct 2, 2026+$11M
Oct 1, 2026−$1.1M
Sep 30, 2026+$1.1M
Sep 29, 2026+$1.1M
Sep 28, 2026−$1.1M
Sep 25, 2026$0
Sep 24, 2026$0
Sep 23, 2026$0
Sep 22, 2026$0

Daily figures are the change in shares outstanding times net asset value, both as the issuer publishes them each day.

Jul 2026
−$3.4M
latest reported month
Latest 3 months
−$11M
−12.5% of assets
Latest 12 months
−$3.7M
−4.1% of assets
Aug 2025: −$5.3MSep 2025: −$1.1MSepOct 2025: +$18M+$18MNov 2025: +$16MNovDec 2025: +$1.1MJan 2026: +$1KJanFeb 2026: −$8.7MMar 2026: −$1KMarApr 2026: −$13M−$13MMay 2026: −$5.5MMayJun 2026: −$2.2MJul 2026: −$3.4MJul
View as a table
Net flows of SMAX by month, Aug 2025 to Jul 2026
MonthNet flow
Jul 2026−$3.4M
Jun 2026−$2.2M
May 2026−$5.5M
Apr 2026−$13M
Mar 2026−$1K
Feb 2026−$8.7M
Jan 2026+$1K
Dec 2025+$1.1M
Nov 2025+$16M
Oct 2025+$18M
Sep 2025−$1.1M
Aug 2025−$5.3M

Net creations and redemptions from the fund's SEC filings, which become public about 60 days after each quarter. Every month since 24 months ago

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BALTInnovator Defined Wealth Shield ETF—0.69%$3.2B+6.7%compare
BUFDFT Vest Laddered Deep Buffer ETF—0.95%$2.2B+10.4%compare
BUFQFT Vest Laddered Nasdaq Buffer ETF—1.00%$1.7B+14.8%compare
FJANFT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - January—0.85%$1.5B+13.4%compare

The largest other funds in the Buffer category.

Look-through: what the holdings say
weights as of Oct 20, 2026issuer data
Insider buying
0%
of weight had net insider buying, 90 days; 0% net selling
13F holders
−6.7%
change in shares held by institutions, latest quarter
Reporting earnings
0.0%
of weight in 7 days; 0.0% in 14

Each figure is the fund's holdings weighted by position size, using our data on those stocks, and covers only the share of the stock holdings stated. Positive fair value means the holdings trade below our estimate.

Under the hood
fiscal year to Jul 31, 2025SEC census
Authorized participants
3 active
of 34 with agreements; top 3 did 100%
Created · redeemed
$158M · $76M
over the fiscal year
Redemptions in kind
99%
creations 0% in kind
Creation unit
40,000
shares
Securities lending
authorized, none lent
Diversification status
Non-diversified
may concentrate in fewer issuers

From the fund's annual census filing with the SEC. In-kind redemptions are what let an ETF shed appreciated securities without realising gains.

ETF Profile
holdings as of 2026-10-20
Holdings
7
AUM
$119.0M
Provider
iShares (BlackRock)
Inception
2024-09-30
Exchange
BATS
Data As Of
2026-10-20
Expense Ratio
0.50%
Dividend Yield
0.92%
Distribution
Annual
Recent distributions
Ex-Date Pay Date Amount Type
2025-12-23 2025-12-29 $0.2632 CD
2024-12-30 2025-01-03 $0.0668 CD
Asset Allocation
Top Holdings
top 7 of 7 holdings
Symbol Name Weight % Asset Class Country
IVV ISHARES CORE S&P ETF TRUST 98.63% Equity (US) US
— OCT27 IVV US P @ 765.85 4.64% Derivative US
— BLK CSH FND TREASURY SL AGENCY 0.40% Cash/Money Market US
— CASH COLLATERAL USD GSCFT 0.12% Cash/Money Market US
— MICRO EMINI S&P 500 DEC 26 0.00% Derivative —
— USD CASH -0.02% Cash/Money Market US
— OCT27 IVV US C @ 840.67 -3.76% Derivative US
Chart
Seasonality
Month'24'25'26Avg
Jan--0.95%0.47%0.71%
Feb---0.04%0.11%0.04%
Mar---1.16%-1.10%-1.13%
Apr--0.08%2.38%1.23%
May--1.82%1.05%1.44%
Jun--1.52%0.22%0.87%
Jul--1.06%0.50%0.78%
Aug--1.54%0.73%1.14%
Sep--1.02%0.85%0.94%
Oct-0.12%0.48%0.14%*0.17%
Nov1.00%0.37%--0.69%
Dec-0.16%-0.42%---0.29%
Total0.72%7.42%5.44%4.53%
* Only 3 year(s) of data available.
Technical Indicators

Quick-reference for reading the values below. Indicators combine to confirm a view — no single one is a trade signal on its own.

Trend Indicators
  • SMA 20 / 50 / 200 — price above = uptrend, below = downtrend. SMA 50 crossing SMA 200 is the golden/death cross.
  • EMA 12 / 26 — faster-reacting averages; 12 above 26 is short-term bullish.
  • MACD — bullish when MACD > signal (green badge), bearish when below. Divergence from price often precedes reversals.
  • ADX (14) — trend strength regardless of direction. <20 range, 20–25 weak trend, 25–50 trend, >50 strong trend.
  • +DI / −DI — +DI > −DI favors bulls; the reverse favors bears. Read alongside ADX.
Momentum Oscillators
  • RSI (14) — <30 oversold, >70 overbought. 40–60 is neutral; trending names can stay extreme.
  • Stochastic %K / %D — <20 oversold, >80 overbought. %K crossing %D is an early momentum signal.
  • Williams %R — inverted scale: <−80 oversold, >−20 overbought.

Oscillators work best in range-bound markets; in strong trends they give premature reversal signals.

Volume & Volatility
  • Bollinger Bands — price at upper band = overbought, lower = oversold. Narrow bands (squeeze) often precede expansion.
  • OBV — cumulative volume; rising OBV confirms uptrend, falling OBV confirms downtrend. Divergence from price is a warning.
  • Vol SMA 20 / Vol ROC — today's volume vs. 20-day average. Positive ROC with price move = conviction.
  • ATR / True Range — average daily $ move; sizing and stop-loss reference.
  • HV 20 / 30 / 60 — realized (historical) volatility. Compare to IV on the options cards: IV > HV = rich premium.

Confluence matters: trend + momentum + volume agreeing carries far more weight than any single indicator. For how these feed the spread scanner score, see the algorithm docs →

Trend Indicators

SMA 20: $28.58
SMA 50: $28.40
SMA 200: $27.67
Current: $28.58
EMA 12: $28.60
EMA 26: $28.53
MACD: 0.0648 | Signal: -0.0148
BULLISH
ADX (14): 46.47
STRONG TREND
+DI: 25.33
−DI: 12.27

Momentum Oscillators

RSI (14): 55.77
NEUTRAL
Stoch %K: 45.84
Stoch %D: 53.03
Williams %R: -76.47

Volume & Volatility

BB Upper: $28.75
BB Lower: $28.42
NEUTRAL
OBV: 962,329
Vol SMA 20: 100,311
Vol ROC: -44.21%
ATR: $0.07
True Range: $0.07
HV 20: 2.4%
HV 30: 2.1%
HV 60: 2.0%

Data Summary

Data Points: 500
Last Updated:
Date Range: 2024-10-23T00:00:00 – 2026-10-21T00:00:00
AI Analysis

LLM Stock Analysis Report: SMAX

Executive Summary

Assessment: NEUTRAL (Confidence Level: 6/10)

Key Drivers: Technical momentum is strong, with bullish MACD and RSI indicators. However, the stock is overbought, and recent news headlines are not available.

Primary Risks: Market volatility could impact SMAX's low-volatility profile, and the lack of recent news headlines hinders sentiment analysis.

Investment Thesis: SMAX's technical momentum suggests a strong uptrend, but its overbought condition may lead to a near-term correction. Investors should be cautious and consider risk management strategies.

Recent News Sentiment Impact: No recent news headlines available, making it difficult to assess sentiment.

Technical Analysis

Trend Direction: Short-term (1-4 weeks): Bullish Medium-term (1-3 months): Neutral Long-term (3-12 months): Bullish

Support/Resistance Levels:

  • Upper Bollinger Band: $27.81
  • Middle Line (EMA 26): $27.59
  • Lower Bollinger Band: $27.48

Momentum Signals: RSI: Overbought (>70), RSI 80.07 MACD: Bullish, with a histogram reading of 0.12 Bollinger Bands: Neutral, with the price touching the upper band

Volume Analysis: Volume SMA 20: $16,683.80 (steady) On-Balance Volume (OBV): -2,232,036.69 (bearish) Volume Rate of Change: 388.06% (high)

News & Sentiment Analysis

Recent Headlines Summary: No recent news headlines available.

Sentiment Assessment: Neutral due to lack of recent news.

Catalyst Identification: None available.

Market Narrative: Without recent news, it is difficult to determine how sentiment aligns with technical signals.

Risk & Volatility Assessment

Beta Interpretation: Low-risk profile (beta = 0.20).

Volatility Regime: Low volatility - stock moves less than market.

Options Market Signals: No options data available.

Downside Protection: Support levels: + Upper Bollinger Band: $27.81 + Middle Line (EMA 26): $27.59 + Lower Bollinger Band: $27.48

Market Context & Positioning

Sector Performance: Not applicable, as SMAX is not a sector-specific stock.

Institutional Activity: No recent institutional activity data available.

Correlation Analysis: Correlation with SPY = 0.83 (high).

Relative Valuation: Neutral, with the stock trading within its historical range.

Key Levels & Action Items

Critical Price Levels:

  • Upper Bollinger Band: $27.81
  • Middle Line (EMA 26): $27.59
  • Lower Bollinger Band: $27.48

Breakout/Breakdown Levels: None available due to lack of recent news.

Time-Sensitive Catalysts: No upcoming events or earnings dates available.

Risk Management: Stop-loss levels: + Upper Bollinger Band: $27.81 + Middle Line (EMA 26): $27.59 + Lower Bollinger Band: $27.48

In conclusion, SMAX's technical momentum suggests a strong uptrend, but its overbought condition and lack of recent news headlines necessitate caution. Investors should consider risk management strategies and monitor the stock for potential corrections or breakouts.

Generated

SMAX Options Activity & IV Rank

Loading options activity...
Spread Scanner GPU

Each spread is ranked by a composite score built in three stages. Full documentation →

Stage 1 — Base Score (GPU scanner)

score = P(profit) × (credit / spread_width)
P(profit) from short leg delta (1 − |delta|), penalised above 85%. Credit uses mid-price to handle illiquid chains fairly.

Stage 2 — Skew Adjustment (±25% cap)

RR and BF (30-delta) from the persisted per-symbol skew snapshot — wing strikes picked by real greeks.delta, not a moneyness proxy. Put skew boosts bull puts, penalises bear calls. High butterfly boosts iron condors. Calendars are skew-neutral.

Stage 3 — Technical Overlay (±50% cap, 5 groups)
Group 1 · Directional Bias (±0.25)
  • RSI <40 bullish / >60 bearish
  • MACD crossover + histogram trend
  • Price vs SMA 50 & SMA 200
Group 2 · Momentum (±0.10)
  • Stochastic %K <20 / >80
  • Williams %R <−80 / >−20
Group 3 · Volatility (up to −0.25 / +0.15)
  • Blended ATR + straddle expected-move penalty
  • Bollinger Band signal (+ counter-trend penalty)
  • BB width — vol contraction boost for ICs
Group 4 · IV Regime (±0.15)
  • IV rank ≥ 75 → strong boost for credit spreads
  • IV rank < 25 → penalty (selling cheap vol)
Group 5 · Liquidity (penalty up to −0.10)
  • Min open interest across all legs
  • OI < 100 → −0.10 · OI < 500 → −0.05

score = base_score × skew_multiplier × tech_multiplier
Both multipliers are shown per spread. Beta is informational only — ATR already captures realized vol. Full algorithm documentation →

Enter a ticker to scan for optimal spread opportunities.

Evaluates all bull put, bear call, iron condor, and calendar spread combinations using GPU-accelerated analysis.

Skew (Wing IV − ATM IV)
DTE:
Wing Δ:
Metric:
Wing vs ATM
IV(put wing) − IV(ATM), in vol points

How much the OTM put trades above (or below) the at-the-money strike. Measures the height of the put-side tail relative to ATM — i.e. how expensive crash insurance is on this name.

  • Positive (typical) — wing IV > ATM IV. Standard equity put skew: portfolios bid up crash protection, so OTM puts trade richer than ATM.
  • Near zero or negative (unusual) — wing IV ≤ ATM IV. Flat or inverted put side. Common when there's no fear demand, in tightly mean-reverting names, or right after an earnings catalyst clears.
  • Percentile vs own 3-yr history: high = wings rich (good time to sell wing premium); low = wings cheap (good time to buy protection).
  • Not directional — high or low wings don't predict up or down moves. It's a price tag on tail insurance, not a forecast.
Risk Reversal
IV(call wing) − IV(put wing), equal delta on each side

Which side of the smile is the market paying up for? Measures the tilt of the surface — call skew vs put skew at matched deltas.

  • Negative (typical) — puts richer than calls. Standard equity behavior: hedging demand makes puts carry a premium. Most large-caps sit in the −1 to −5 vol-point range.
  • Strongly negative (< −5 pts) — heavy downside hedging, elevated fear, or an upcoming catalyst (earnings, FDA, macro event). Worth flagging.
  • Positive — calls richer than puts. Unusual for equities; signals bullish momentum, short-squeeze positioning, or takeover/M&A speculation.
  • Near zero — symmetric surface. Market sees roughly equal up/down risk. Rare for large-caps; more common in commodities and FX.
Reading them together

Wing-vs-ATM tells you how expensive the tails are. Risk Reversal tells you which side is favored. Combined:

  • High wing percentile + deeply negative RR → strong put bid; stress or major event priced in. Owning protection costs a premium; selling put premium is dangerous.
  • Low wing percentile + near-zero RR → complacency; insurance cheap and balanced. Good environment to add cheap downside hedges.
  • Positive RR + elevated wings → call-side fear-of-missing-out; common in squeeze setups. Upside calls expensive, downside puts not bid.
14 DTE / 10d —
— pts EXTREME
ATM — / Wing —
30 DTE / 10d —
— pts EXTREME
ATM — / Wing —

Percentile is the rank of today's reading within ~3 years of this symbol's own history. High percentile = wings are rich relative to history; not a directional signal. Skew is read off the chain in real time, not from CBOE SKEW.

Volatility Surface

Enter a ticker to render the implied volatility surface.

Volatility Smile

Enter a ticker to render the implied volatility smile.

IV Rank (7 DTE)
IV Rank (30 DTE)
Straddle Price (30 DTE)
Beta Analysis

Risk Metrics

Beta: 0.1819
Alpha: 3.49%
Correlation: 0.8297
R-Squared: 68.8%
Stock Volatility: 2.8%
Market Volatility: 12.7%

Analysis Details

Benchmark: SPY
Data Points: 251
Period: 252 trading days
Interpretation:
Low volatility - stock moves less than market
Beta & Alpha Over Time

SMAX Institutional Ownership (13F)

Latest filings — 2026-09-30

Institutional managers with $100M+ AUM file Form 13F-HR quarterly, due 45 days after quarter end. Holdings are reported gross at quarter-end market value — they are a snapshot, not a real-time position.

  • Shares — long equity positions in this name, aggregated across share classes.
  • Calls / Puts — notional value of long call / put exposure where this ticker is the underlying.
  • % of Float — holder's reported shares divided by the latest diluted shares outstanding. Sums above 100% indicate large custodian / prime broker positions where the same shares are reported by multiple filers.
  • Custodian badge — filers with more than 5,000 holdings are typically broker-dealers / custodians reporting customer-held shares, not active managers.

Each filer is counted once at its latest 13F-HR filing. New filings are ingested on a weekly cadence.

38 filers1,909,333 shares$53.30M value
# Filer Shares Value % of Total % of Float Period
1 J. L. Bainbridge & Co., Inc. 947,144 $26.39M 49.52% — 2026-06-30
2 Client First Capital LLC 143,897 $4.01M 7.52% — 2026-06-30
3 Raymond James Financial, Inc. Custodian 93,262 $2.60M 4.88% — 2026-06-30
4 FC Advisory LLC 80,533 $2.29M 4.30% — 2026-09-30
5 Grantvest Financial Group LLC 73,199 $2.04M 3.83% — 2026-06-30
6 Susquehanna International Group, LLP Custodian 69,884 $1.95M 3.65% — 2026-06-30
7 Amplius Wealth Advisors, LLC 48,101 $1.34M 2.51% — 2026-06-30
8 Envestnet Asset Management, Inc. 44,209 $1.23M 2.31% — 2026-06-30
9 Crewe Advisors LLC 38,118 $1.06M 1.99% — 2026-06-30
10 JIM SAULNIER & ASSOCIATES, LLC 36,141 $1.01M 1.89% — 2026-06-30
11 Blue Sky Capital Consultants Group, Inc. 27,080 $771.23K 1.45% — 2026-09-30
12 COMMONWEALTH EQUITY SERVICES, LLC 26,778 $746.18K 1.40% — 2026-06-30
13 Kestra Advisory Services, LLC 21,493 $598.90K 1.12% — 2026-06-30
14 Atria Investments, Inc 20,703 $589.62K 1.11% — 2026-09-30
15 Tradition Wealth Management, LLC 21,112 $588.30K 1.10% — 2026-06-30
16 ARS Investment Partners, LLC 19,900 $554.51K 1.04% — 2026-06-30
17 Lifestyle Asset Management, Inc. 16,720 $465.90K 0.87% — 2026-06-30
18 Crown Wealth Group, LLC 16,701 $465.37K 0.87% — 2026-06-30
19 Citadel Advisors LLC Custodian 15,936 $444.06K 0.83% — 2026-06-30
20 Clear Creek Financial Management, LLC 15,357 $427.92K 0.80% — 2026-06-30
21 Kestra Investment Management, LLC 14,787 $412.04K 0.77% — 2026-06-30
22 Kovack Advisors, Inc. 14,782 $411.94K 0.77% — 2026-06-30
23 Creative Planning Custodian 13,994 $389.94K 0.73% — 2026-06-30
24 Ausdal Financial Partners, Inc. 11,600 $323.23K 0.61% — 2026-06-30
25 OLD MISSION CAPITAL LLC 10,584 $294.92K 0.55% — 2026-06-30
# Filer Notional Value % of Total Period
# Filer Notional Value % of Total Period
SMAX Constituent Performance

Click any bar to view the full quote for that stock.

SMAX Constituents (1 of 1)
Symbol Name Weight % Price 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month
IVV ISHARES CORE S&P ETF TRUST 98.63% $768.38 -1.06%-0.87%-0.29%