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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FPE returned −2.6% and PFF −4.2%.

Which is cheaper, FPE or PFF?

PFF is cheaper, by 0.38 percentage points a year. That is about $38 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

FPE vs PFF: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FPE returned −2.6% to PFF's −4.2%, and PFF charges 0.45% to FPE's 0.83%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $5.8bn for First Trust Preferred Securities and Income ETF and $11.8bn for iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF.

FPE on its own →PFF on its own →

At a glance

−2.6%

FPE total return, 1 year

−4.2%

PFF total return, 1 year

0.83%

FPE expense ratio

0.45%

PFF expense ratio

Pair scorecard

PFF costs 0.38 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.6 points; PFF is 2.0 times larger.

FPE vs PFF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FPE	PFF
Return
Measure	FPE	PFF
Total return, 1 year	−2.6%	−4.2%
Drawdown
Measure	FPE	PFF
Below its high	4.3%, high on Feb 20, 2026	7.1%, high on May 8, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	FPE	PFF
What it tracks	No index, actively managed	ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index
Cost and size
Measure	FPE	PFF
Expense ratio	0.83%	0.45%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$5.8bn	$11.8bn
Holdings
Measure	FPE	PFF
Holdings in common	15%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	15.0%	22.7%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Feb 22, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026 · 713 weekly returns

FPE PFF

Return

Total return edge FPE +80.1% +57.4%

Annualized edge FPE +4.4% +3.4%

Price return edge FPE −16.1% −28.3%

Risk

Volatility edge FPE (slight) 10.0% 11.0%

Max drawdown edge PFF (slight) −30.1% −27.2%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge FPE 0.29 0.19

Sortino edge FPE 0.40 0.26

Calmar edge FPE 0.15 0.12

Reading

FPE returned more: +80.1% to +57.4%. FPE swung slightly less: 10.0% to 11.0%. PFF fell slightly less at its worst: −27.2% to −30.1%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: FPE vs PFF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FPE	PFF	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+80.1%	+57.4%	FPE	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+4.4%	+3.4%	FPE	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−16.1%	−28.3%	FPE	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	10.0%	11.0%	FPE (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	7.3%	7.8%	FPE (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−30.1%	−27.2%	PFF (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.29	0.19	FPE	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.40	0.26	FPE	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.15	0.12	FPE	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 713 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

15%

By the books each fund has filed, FPE and PFF hold 15% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

15% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FPE PFF

WELLS FARGO & COMPANY 7.5% NON-CUMULATIVE PERPETUAL CONVERTIBLE CLASS A PREFERRED STOCK, SERIES L 2.08% 2.33%

BANK OF AMERICA CORP DEP SHS EACH REP A 1/1,000TH INT IN A SHARE OF BANK OF AMERICA CORP 5.375% NON-CUMULATIVE PREFERRED STOCK, SERIES KK 0.43% 0.44%

NEXTERA ENERGY CAPITAL HOLDINGS INC SERIES U JUNIOR SUBORDINATED DEBENTURES DUE JUNE 1, 2085 1.33% 0.43%

XCEL ENERGY INC 6.25% NOTES ISSUED DUE ON OCTOBER 15, 2085 1.23% 0.43%

ATHENE HOLDING LTD 6.35%DEP 1/1000TH PERP NON CUM PFD SER A 0.49% 0.42%

AEGON FUNDING COMPANY LLC 5.10% SUBORDINATED NOTES DUE DECEMBER 15, 2049 0.93% 0.35%

EQUITABLE HOLDINGS INC 5.25% DEPOSITARY SHARES EACH REPRESENTING A 1/1,000TH INTEREST IN A SHARE OF FIXED RATE NONCUMULATIVE PERPETUAL PREFERRED STOCK 0.42% 0.32%

DTE ENERGY COMPANY 6.250% JUNIOR SUBORDINATED DEBENTURES DUE ON OCTOBER 1, 2085 0.98% 0.29%

AT&T INC 5.350% GLOBAL NOTES DUE 2066 0.29% 0.55%

ATHENE HOLDING LTD JUNIOR SUBORDINATED DEBENTURES DUE ON MARCH 30, 2064 0.71% 0.29%

SOUTHERN COMPANY (THE) CALLABLE JUNIOR SUBORDINATED NOTES DUE MARCH 15, 2085 0.34% 0.29%

COREBRIDGE FINANCIAL INC 6.375% JUNIOR SUBORDINATED NOTES DUE DECEMBER 15,2064. 1.05% 0.28%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in FPE

BAC V6.625 PERP 2.52%

BACR V8 PERP 1.67%

JPM V6.875 PERP NN 1.35%

BNP V7.2 PERP 144A 1.26%

ACAFP V7.125 PERP 144A 1.21%

C V6.625 PERP 1.20%

HIG F 02/12/47 ICON, due Feb 12, 2047 1.09%

SCHW V4 PERP H 1.07%

Only in PFF

BOEING COMPANY (THE) 6% SER A DEP SHS REPSTG 1/20TH INT MANDATORY CONV PFD 3.93%

STRATEGY INC VARIABLE RATE SERIES A PERPETUAL STRETCH PREFERRED STOCK 2.95%

ORACLE CORP DEPOSITARY SHARES EACH REPRESENTING A 1/2,000TH INTEREST IN A SHARE OF 6.50% SERIES D MANDATORY CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK 2.28%

HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE COMPANY 7.625% SERIES C MANDATORY CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK 1.76%

BANK OF AMERICA CORP 7.25% NON-CUMULATIVE PERPETUAL CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK SERIES L 1.45%

CITIGROUP CAPITAL XIII FIXED/FLOAT TRUST PREFERRED SECURITIES 1.31%

ALBEMARLE CORP DEPOSITARY SHARES EACH REPRESENTING A 1/20TH INTEREST IN A SHARE OF 7.25% SERIES A MANDATORY CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK 1.29%

MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INC 7.50 % DEP SHS REPSTG 1/20TH PFD CONV SER A 1.16%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FPE First Trust Preferred Securities and Income ETF PFF iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer First Trust iShares

What it is Actively managed Tracks an index of Preferred and Income Securities

Total return, 1 year −2.6% −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 0.83% 0.45%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.0%

Holdings 263 453

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $5.8bn $11.8bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-50201CBCDB

FPE and PFF are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?

What each follows. FPE follows No index, actively managed and PFF follows ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index.
Holdings in common. 15% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026).
Cost. FPE charges 0.83% of assets a year and PFF 0.45%, a gap of 0.38 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

FPE

FPE is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −2.6% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.83% 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 263 positions, with the top ten at 15.0%. It sat 4.3% below its high of Feb 20, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

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, FPE or PFF?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FPE returned −2.6% and PFF −4.2%.
Which is cheaper, FPE or PFF?: PFF is cheaper, by 0.38 percentage points a year. That is about $38 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do FPE and PFF overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of FPE and 0% of PFF by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

FPE vs PGX FPE vs VRP FPE vs FPEI FPE vs PFFA PFF vs PFFA PFF vs PFXF PFF vs PFFD PFF vs PREF

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

FPE filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FPE prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

First Trust page for FPE ↗

PFF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

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

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