Which returned more over the last year, DGRO or PFF?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DGRO returned +18.8% and PFF −4.2%.

Which is cheaper, DGRO or PFF?

DGRO is cheaper, by 0.37 percentage points a year. That is about $37 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do DGRO and PFF overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 92% of DGRO and 0% of PFF by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

DGRO vs PFF: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, DGRO returned +18.8% to PFF's −4.2%; 12% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $44.6bn for iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF and $11.8bn for iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF.

DGRO on its own →PFF on its own →

At a glance

+18.8%

DGRO total return, 1 year

−4.2%

PFF total return, 1 year

0.08%

DGRO expense ratio

0.45%

PFF expense ratio

Pair scorecard

DGRO costs 0.37 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 23.0 points; DGRO is 3.8 times larger.

DGRO vs PFF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	DGRO	PFF
Return
Measure	DGRO	PFF
Total return, 1 year	+18.8%	−4.2%
Drawdown
Measure	DGRO	PFF
Below its high		7.1%, high on May 8, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	DGRO	PFF
What it tracks	Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index	ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index
Cost and size
Measure	DGRO	PFF
Expense ratio	0.08%	0.45%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$44.6bn	$11.8bn
Holdings
Measure	DGRO	PFF
Holdings in common	12%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	27.2%	22.7%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Jun 20, 2014 to Oct 23, 2026 · 644 weekly returns

DGRO PFF

Return

Total return edge DGRO +321.3% +46.3%

Annualized edge DGRO +12.3% +3.1%

Price return edge DGRO +216.7% −27.5%

Risk

Volatility edge PFF 15.3% 11.4%

Max drawdown edge PFF −32.1% −27.2%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge DGRO 0.70 0.15

Sortino edge DGRO 1.00 0.21

Calmar edge DGRO 0.38 0.11

Reading

DGRO returned more: +321.3% to +46.3%. PFF swung less: 11.4% to 15.3%. PFF fell less at its worst: −27.2% to −32.1%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: DGRO vs PFF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	DGRO	PFF	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+321.3%	+46.3%	DGRO	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+12.3%	+3.1%	DGRO	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+216.7%	−27.5%	DGRO	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	15.3%	11.4%	PFF	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	10.7%	8.1%	PFF	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−32.1%	−27.2%	PFF	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.70	0.15	DGRO	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	1.00	0.21	DGRO	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.38	0.11	DGRO	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 644 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

12%

By the books each fund has filed, DGRO and PFF hold 12% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

12% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first DGRO PFF

BANK OF AMERICA 1.29% 1.43%

WELLS FARGO 1.22% 2.14%

NEXTERA ENERGY 1.13% 1.06%

CITIGROUP 0.88% 1.22%

JPMORGAN CHASE & CO 2.68% 0.85%

SOUTHERN 0.81% 0.98%

ORACLE 0.62% 2.06%

GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP 1.01% 0.50%

MORGAN STANLEY 1.03% 0.48%

DUKE ENERGY CORP 0.77% 0.45%

XCEL ENERGY INC 0.34% 0.38%

SEMPRA 0.38% 0.29%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in DGRO

EXXONMOBIL HOLDINGS CORP 3.24%

MICROSOFT 3.14%

APPLE 3.11%

ABBVIE 3.00%

JOHNSON & JOHNSON 2.77%

BROADCOM INC 2.55%

PROCTER & GAMBLE 2.42%

PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL 2.23%

Only in PFF

STRATEGY INC 3.53%

BOEING CO 3.11%

HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE CONV PR 2.36%

ALPHABET INC 2.31%

SUPER MICRO COMPUTER INC 2.27%

ALPHABET INC 2.26%

NEXTERA ENERGY UNITS 1.04%

ALBEMARLE CORP 1.02%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

DGRO iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF PFF iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks an index of Dividend Growth Tracks an index of Preferred and Income Securities

Total return, 1 year +18.8% −4.2%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +13.6% (MLRG)

Gap to its benchmark not measured −17.8 pts vs MLRG

Expense ratio 0.08% 0.45%

Already in the S&P 500 91.8% 0.0%

Holdings 393 453

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $44.6bn $11.8bn

DGRO and PFF on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-69C0871738

DGRO and PFF do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. DGRO follows Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index and PFF follows ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index.
Holdings in common. 12% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 DGRO returned +18.8% and PFF −4.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 23.0 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

DGRO

DGRO tracks an index of Dividend Growth. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 92% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 393 positions, with the top ten at 27.2%.

PFF

PFF tracks an index of Preferred and Income Securities. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −4.2% with distributions reinvested, against +13.6% for its benchmark, the MSCI USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.45% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 453 positions, with the top ten at 22.7%. It sat 7.1% below its high of May 8, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, DGRO or PFF?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DGRO returned +18.8% and PFF −4.2%.
Which is cheaper, DGRO or PFF?: DGRO is cheaper, by 0.37 percentage points a year. That is about $37 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do DGRO and PFF overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 92% of DGRO and 0% of PFF by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

DGRO vs SPSB DGRO vs EMB DGRO vs VGLT DGRO vs VUSB PFF vs VTV FDVV vs PFF PFF vs VLUE PFF vs SPYD

Where to next

DGRO on its own →PFF on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →DGRO dividend history →DGRO holdings →PFF dividend history →PFF holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

DGRO and PFF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

DGRO prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for DGRO ↗

PFF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for PFF ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, DGRO against PFF, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dgro-vs-pff

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.