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

In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GOVT returned −1.0% and PFF returned −0.8%, so PFF returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, GOVT or PFF?

GOVT charges 0.05% a year and PFF charges 0.45%, so GOVT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Sep 13, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

GOVT vs PFF: how they differ

GOVT and PFF hold 0% of their weight in the same names.

iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF and iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF.

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, GOVT and PFF hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Largest positions each one holds and the other does not
Only in GOVT	Only in PFF
US TREASURY N/B 0.60%	BOEING CO 3.54%
TREASURY NOTE (OTR) 0.55%	ORACLE CORPORATION 2.31%
TREASURY BOND (OLD) 0.42%	SUPER MICRO COMPUTER INC 2.30%
TREASURY NOTE (2OLD) 0.25%	ALPHABET INC 2.24%
TREASURY BOND (OTR) 0.16%	HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE CONV PR 2.06%
BLK CSH FND TREASURY SL AGENCY 0.11%	ALBEMARLE CORP 1.12%
TREASURY NOTE (OLD) 0.11%	MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED 0.89%
TREASURY BOND (2OLD) 0.08%	BRIGHTSPRING HEALTH SERVICES UNITS 0.74%

Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Sep 10, 2026.

GOVT and PFF on the fields both publish, as of Sep 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	GOVT iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF	PFF iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	iShares	iShares
What it is	U.S. Treasury Bond	Preferred and Income Securities
Total return, 1 year	−1.0%	−0.8%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	−18.5 pts	−18.3 pts
Expense ratio	0.05%	0.45%
Holdings	216	461

GOVT in plain words

GOVT is a bond fund tracking the U.S. Treasury Bond. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned −1.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.05% a year. It sat 8.4% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Sep 11, 2026.

PFF in plain words

PFF is an index equity fund tracking the Preferred and Income Securities. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned −0.8% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.45% a year. By its holdings filed for Sep 10, 2026, 22% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 461 positions, with the top ten at 23.1%. It sat 3.2% below its high of May 8, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GOVT or PFF?: In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GOVT returned −1.0% and PFF returned −0.8%, so PFF returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, GOVT or PFF?: GOVT charges 0.05% a year and PFF charges 0.45%, so GOVT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

Where to next

Where these figures came from

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.

GOVT against PFF, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 13, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, GOVT against PFF, data as of Sep 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/govt-vs-pff Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources