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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FPEI returned +0.3% and PFF −4.2%.

Which is cheaper, FPEI or PFF?

PFF is cheaper, by 0.40 percentage points a year. That is about $40 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

FPEI vs PFF: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FPEI returned +0.3% to PFF's −4.2%, and PFF charges 0.45% to FPEI's 0.85%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $1.9bn for First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF and $11.8bn for iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF.

FPEI on its own →PFF on its own →

At a glance

+0.3%

FPEI total return, 1 year

−4.2%

PFF total return, 1 year

0.85%

FPEI expense ratio

0.45%

PFF expense ratio

Pair scorecard

PFF costs 0.40 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.5 points; PFF is 6.2 times larger.

FPEI vs PFF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FPEI	PFF
Return
Measure	FPEI	PFF
Total return, 1 year	+0.3%	−4.2%
Drawdown
Measure	FPEI	PFF
Below its high		7.1%, high on May 8, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	FPEI	PFF
What it tracks	No index, actively managed	ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index
Cost and size
Measure	FPEI	PFF
Expense ratio	0.85%	0.45%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$1.9bn	$11.8bn
Holdings
Measure	FPEI	PFF
Holdings in common	1%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	18.1%	22.7%

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

Risk and return

Sep 1, 2017 to Oct 23, 2026 · 477 weekly returns

FPEI PFF

Return

Total return edge FPEI +49.0% +23.8%

Annualized edge FPEI +4.4% +2.4%

Price return edge FPEI −8.8% −25.9%

Risk

Volatility edge FPEI 10.2% 12.9%

Max drawdown edge Tie −27.2% −27.2%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge FPEI 0.22 0.04

Sortino edge FPEI 0.27 0.05

Calmar edge FPEI 0.16 0.09

Reading

FPEI returned more: +49.0% to +23.8%. FPEI swung less: 10.2% to 12.9%. FPEI and PFF fell about the same at their worst: −27.2% and −27.2%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: FPEI vs PFF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FPEI	PFF	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+49.0%	+23.8%	FPEI	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+4.4%	+2.4%	FPEI	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−8.8%	−25.9%	FPEI	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	10.2%	12.9%	FPEI	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	8.2%	9.2%	FPEI	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−27.2%	−27.2%	Tie	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.22	0.04	FPEI	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.27	0.05	FPEI	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.16	0.09	FPEI	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 477 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, FPEI and PFF hold 1% 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

1% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FPEI PFF

WELLS FARGO & COMPANY 7.5% NON-CUMULATIVE PERPETUAL CONVERTIBLE CLASS A PREFERRED STOCK, SERIES L 1.08% 2.33%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in FPEI

BAC V6.625 PERP 2.90%

ACAFP V7.125 PERP 144A 2.02%

C V6.625 PERP 1.89%

INTNED V7 PERP . 1.73%

BBVASM V7.75 PERP 1.64%

TD V8.125 10/31/82, due Oct 31, 2082 1.61%

ENBCN V8.5 01/15/84, due Jan 15, 2084 1.52%

SANTAN V9.625 PERP _ 1.46%

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

FPEI First Trust Institutional 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 +0.3% −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 0.85% 0.45%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.0%

Holdings 177 453

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $1.9bn $11.8bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-CB0C2E8B87

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

What each follows. FPEI follows No index, actively managed and PFF follows ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index.
Holdings in common. 1% 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 FPEI returned +0.3% and PFF −4.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 4.5 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

FPEI

FPEI is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +0.3% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.85% 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 177 positions, with the top ten at 18.1%.

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, FPEI or PFF?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FPEI returned +0.3% and PFF −4.2%.
Which is cheaper, FPEI or PFF?: PFF is cheaper, by 0.40 percentage points a year. That is about $40 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do FPEI and PFF overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of FPEI and 0% of PFF by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

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

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

FPEI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FPEI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

First Trust page for FPEI ↗

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

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