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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, HYG returned +1.3% and PFF −4.2%.

Which is cheaper, HYG or PFF?

PFF is cheaper, by 0.04 percentage points a year. That is about $4 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

HYG vs PFF: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, HYG returned +1.3% to PFF's −4.2%, and PFF charges 0.45% to HYG's 0.49%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $17.5bn for iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF and $11.8bn for iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF.

HYG on its own →PFF on its own →

At a glance

+1.3%

HYG total return, 1 year

−4.2%

PFF total return, 1 year

0.49%

HYG expense ratio

0.45%

PFF expense ratio

Pair scorecard

PFF costs 0.04 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.5 points; HYG is 1.5 times larger.

HYG vs PFF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	HYG	PFF
Return
Measure	HYG	PFF
Total return, 1 year	+1.3%	−4.2%
Drawdown
Measure	HYG	PFF
Below its high		7.1%, high on May 8, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	HYG	PFF
What it tracks	Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index	ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index
Cost and size
Measure	HYG	PFF
Expense ratio	0.49%	0.45%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$17.5bn	$11.8bn
Holdings
Measure	HYG	PFF
Holdings in common	0%
In the S&P 500, by weight		0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		22.7%

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

Risk and return

Apr 20, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,018 weekly returns

HYG PFF

Return

Total return edge HYG +148.8% +94.1%

Annualized edge HYG +4.8% +3.4%

Price return edge HYG −26.2% −42.8%

Risk

Volatility edge HYG 11.1% 20.9%

Max drawdown edge HYG −33.0% −65.4%

Downside capture 48.4% 63.8%

Beta 1.00 0.70

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge HYG 0.34 0.19

Sortino edge HYG 0.46 0.28

Treynor 0.019 0.056

Calmar edge HYG 0.14 0.05

Against the benchmark

Alpha +1.9% a year −3.5% a year

Alpha t-stat 0.87 −0.90

Information ratio 0.25 −0.37

Tracking error 7.6% 17.7%

Each against its own benchmark: HYG against IUSB, Jun 20, 2014 to Oct 23, 2026; PFF against MLRG, Apr 5, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

HYG returned more: +148.8% to +94.1%. HYG swung less: 11.1% to 20.9%. HYG fell less at its worst: −33.0% to −65.4%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: HYG vs PFF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	HYG	PFF	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+148.8%	+94.1%	HYG	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+4.8%	+3.4%	HYG	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−26.2%	−42.8%	HYG	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	11.1%	20.9%	HYG	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	8.1%	14.0%	HYG	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−33.0%	−65.4%	HYG	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	62.1%	37.7%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	48.4%	63.8%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	1.00	0.70	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.31	0.34	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.34	0.19	HYG	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.46	0.28	HYG	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.019	0.056		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.14	0.05	HYG	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	IUSB	MLRG		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	+1.9% a year	−3.5% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	0.87	−0.90	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−2.4% to +6.1%	−11.0% to +4.0%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	0.25	−0.37		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	7.6%	17.7%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,018 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, HYG and PFF hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first HYG PFF

Only in one fund ↓

Only in HYG

1261229 BC Ltd, due Apr 15, 2032 0.50%

Meridian Arc Holdco LLC, due Apr 30, 2031 0.45%

EchoStar Corp, due Nov 30, 2029 0.43%

PR RNO Property Owner 1 LLC, due May 1, 2031 0.34%

Quikrete Holdings Inc, due Mar 1, 2032 0.32%

Cloud Software Group LLC, due Mar 31, 2029 0.32%

Cloud Software Group LLC, due Sep 30, 2029 0.32%

Galaxy Helios Data Centers II LLC, due Aug 1, 2031 0.30%

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%

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

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%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

HYG iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF PFF iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks an index of US high yield bonds Tracks an index of Preferred and Income Securities

Total return, 1 year +1.3% −4.2%

Its benchmark over the same days −1.2% (IUSB) +13.6% (MLRG)

Gap to its benchmark +2.5 pts vs IUSB −17.8 pts vs MLRG

Expense ratio 0.49% 0.45%

Holdings 1332 453

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $17.5bn $11.8bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-45D3620C2D

HYG and PFF do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. HYG follows Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index and PFF follows ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index.
Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Aug 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 HYG returned +1.3% and PFF −4.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 5.5 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

HYG

HYG tracks an index of US high yield bonds. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.3% with distributions reinvested, against −1.2% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% a year.

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, HYG or PFF?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, HYG returned +1.3% and PFF −4.2%.
Which is cheaper, HYG or PFF?: PFF is cheaper, by 0.04 percentage points a year. That is about $4 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

HYG vs SPSB HYG vs VBIL HYG vs VGLT HYG vs VUSB PFF vs USHY JNK vs PFF IEI vs PFF PFF vs SCHP

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

HYG and PFF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

HYG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for HYG ↗

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

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