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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FPEI returned +0.3% and PFFA −3.4%.

Which is cheaper, FPEI or PFFA?

FPEI is cheaper, by 1.26 percentage points a year. That is about $126 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 0% of FPEI and 1% of PFFA by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

FPEI vs PFFA: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FPEI returned +0.3% to PFFA's −3.4%, and FPEI charges 0.85% to PFFA's 2.11%.

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Net assets: $1.9bn on Oct 27, 2026 for First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF, and $2.5bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Virtus InfraCap U.S. Preferred Stock ETF.

FPEI on its own →PFFA on its own →

At a glance

+0.3%

FPEI total return, 1 year

−3.4%

PFFA total return, 1 year

0.85%

FPEI expense ratio

2.11%

PFFA expense ratio

Pair scorecard

FPEI costs 1.26 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.7 points.

FPEI vs PFFA: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FPEI	PFFA
Return
Measure	FPEI	PFFA
Total return, 1 year	+0.3%	−3.4%
Drawdown
Measure	FPEI	PFFA
Below its high		9.2%, high on May 8, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	FPEI	PFFA
What it tracks	No index, actively managed	No index, actively managed
Cost and size
Measure	FPEI	PFFA
Expense ratio	0.85%	2.11%
Net assets, FPEI as of Oct 27, 2026 and PFFA as of Jul 31, 2026	$1.9bn	$2.5bn
Holdings
Measure	FPEI	PFFA
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	18.1%	22.9%

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

Risk and return

May 25, 2018 to Oct 23, 2026 · 439 weekly returns

FPEI PFFA

Return

Total return edge PFFA +49.7% +64.9%

Annualized edge PFFA +4.9% +6.1%

Price return edge FPEI −5.0% −25.2%

Risk

Volatility edge FPEI 10.6% 27.3%

Max drawdown edge FPEI −27.2% −59.0%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge PFFA (slight) 0.24 0.25

Sortino edge PFFA 0.30 0.37

Calmar edge FPEI 0.18 0.10

Reading

PFFA returned more: +64.9% to +49.7%. FPEI swung less: 10.6% to 27.3%. FPEI fell less at its worst: −27.2% to −59.0%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: FPEI vs PFFA: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FPEI	PFFA	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+49.7%	+64.9%	PFFA	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+4.9%	+6.1%	PFFA	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−5.0%	−25.2%	FPEI	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	10.6%	27.3%	FPEI	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	8.5%	18.6%	FPEI	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−27.2%	−59.0%	FPEI	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.24	0.25	PFFA (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.30	0.37	PFFA	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.18	0.10	FPEI	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 439 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, FPEI and PFFA hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FPEI PFFA

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 PFFA

STRATEGY INC VARIABLE RATE SERIES A PERPETUAL STRETCH PREFERRED STOCK 2.63%

FLAGSTAR BANK NA DEPOSITARY SHARES, EACH REPRESENTING A 1/40TH INTEREST IN A SHARE OF WFIXED-TO-FLOATING RATE SERIES A NONCUMULATIVE PERPETUAL PREFERR 2.56%

KKR & CO. INC 6.25% SERIES D MANDATORY CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK 2.54%

TELEPHONE & DATA SYSTEMS INC DEPOSITARY SHARES EACH REPRESENTING A 1/1,000 INTEREST IN A SHARE OF TELEPHONE AND DATA SYSTEMS, INC.S 6.000% SERIES VV C 2.38%

ENERGY TRANSFER LP 9.250% SERIES I FIXED RATE PERPETUAL PREFERRED UNITS 2.34%

BANC OF CALIFORNIA INC DEPOSITARY SHARES EACH REPRESENTING A 1/40TH INTEREST IN A SHARE OF 7.75% NON CUMULATIVE PERPETUAL PREFERRED STOCK SERIES F 2.16%

RLJ LODGING TRUST SERIES A CUMULATIVE CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED SHARES 2.08%

GLOBAL NET LEASE INC 7.50% CUM RED PFD SER D 2.07%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FPEI First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF PFFA Virtus InfraCap U.S. Preferred Stock ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer First Trust Virtus

What it is Actively managed Actively managed

Total return, 1 year +0.3% −3.4%

Expense ratio 0.85% 2.11%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.8%

Holdings 177 194

Net assets, FPEI as of Oct 27, 2026 and PFFA as of Jul 31, 2026 $1.9bn $2.5bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-B8061F552F

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

Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 FPEI returned +0.3% and PFFA −3.4% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 3.7 points.
Cost. FPEI charges 0.85% of assets a year and PFFA 2.11%, a gap of 1.26 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%.

PFFA

PFFA is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −3.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 2.11% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 1% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 194 positions, with the top ten at 22.9%. It sat 9.2% below its high of May 8, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, FPEI or PFFA?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FPEI returned +0.3% and PFFA −3.4%.
Which is cheaper, FPEI or PFFA?: FPEI is cheaper, by 1.26 percentage points a year. That is about $126 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do FPEI and PFFA overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of FPEI and 1% of PFFA by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

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

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

FPEI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FPEI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

First Trust page for FPEI ↗

PFFA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

PFFA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Virtus website ↗

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 PFFA, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fpei-vs-pffa

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