Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
PFF vs SPY: how they differ
PFF and SPY hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and SPY returned more over the year.
iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, PFF and SPY hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in PFF | Only in SPY |
|---|---|
| BOEING COMPANY (THE) 3.99% | NVIDIA Corp. 7.52% |
| STRATEGY INC 2.99% | Apple, Inc. 6.59% |
| WELLS FARGO & COMPANY 2.37% | Microsoft Corp. 4.30% |
| ORACLE CORP 2.31% | Amazon.com, Inc. 3.62% |
| HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE COMPANY 1.79% | Alphabet, Inc. 3.25% |
| BANK OF AMERICA CORP 1.47% | Broadcom, Inc. 2.77% |
| CITIGROUP CAPITAL XIII 1.33% | Alphabet, Inc. 2.59% |
| ALBEMARLE CORP 1.31% | Micron Technology, Inc. 2.02% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026.
| PFF iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF | SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | iShares | State Street |
| What it is | Preferred and Income Securities | S&P 500, book from IVV |
| Total return, 1 year | −0.8% | +17.5% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −18.3 pts | 0.0 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.45% | 0.09% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 21.6% | 100.0% |
| Holdings | 455 | 504 |
PFF in plain words
PFF is an index equity fund tracking the Preferred and Income Securities. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned −0.8% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.45% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 22% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 455 positions, with the top ten at 19.9%. It sat 3.2% below its high of May 8, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
SPY in plain words
SPY is an index equity fund tracking the S&P 500. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +17.5% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 504 positions, with the top ten at 36.4%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, PFF or SPY?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PFF returned −0.8% and SPY returned +17.5%, so SPY returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, PFF or SPY?
- PFF charges 0.45% a year and SPY charges 0.09%, so SPY is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do PFF and SPY overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 22% of PFF and 100% of SPY by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 0% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.
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Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, PFF against SPY, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/PFF-SPY Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources