Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
FPE vs PREF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FPE returned −2.6% to PREF's +0.6%, and PREF charges 0.55% to FPE's 0.83%.
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Net assets: $5.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for First Trust Preferred Securities and Income ETF, and $1.9bn on Oct 26, 2026 for Principal Spectrum Preferred Securities Active ETF.
Pair scorecard
PREF costs 0.28 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.2 points; FPE is 3.1 times larger.
| Measure | FPE | PREF |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −2.6% | +0.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.3%, high on Feb 20, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | No index, actively managed |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.83% | 0.55% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $5.8bn | $1.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 23% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 15.0% | 20.1% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Aug 4, 2017 to Oct 23, 2026 · 481 weekly returnsFPE and PREF returned about the same: +39.7% and +39.8%. PREF swung less: 8.4% to 11.7%. PREF fell less at its worst: −23.0% to −30.1%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | FPE | PREF | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +39.7% | +39.8% | Tie | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +3.7% | +3.7% | Tie | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −16.4% | −9.7% | PREF | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 11.7% | 8.4% | PREF | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 8.6% | 6.8% | PREF | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −30.1% | −23.0% | PREF | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.14 | 0.16 | PREF | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.19 | 0.20 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.12 | 0.16 | PREF | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 481 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, FPE and PREF hold 23% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026.
half
23% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
FPE and PREF on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
FPE and PREF are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- Holdings in common. 23% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 FPE returned −2.6% and PREF +0.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 3.2 points.
- Cost. FPE charges 0.83% of assets a year and PREF 0.55%, a gap of 0.28 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
PREF
PREF is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +0.6% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.55% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 160 positions, with the top ten at 20.1%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, FPE or PREF?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FPE returned −2.6% and PREF +0.6%.
- Which is cheaper, FPE or PREF?
- PREF is cheaper, by 0.28 percentage points a year. That is about $28 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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.
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ETFIQ, FPE against PREF, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fpe-vs-pref
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). FPE against PREF. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fpe-vs-pref
[FPE against PREF (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fpe-vs-pref)
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