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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PFF returned −4.2% and PFFD −6.2%.

Which is cheaper, PFF or PFFD?

PFFD is cheaper, by 0.22 percentage points a year. That is about $22 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

PFF vs PFFD: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, PFF returned −4.2% to PFFD's −6.2%, and PFFD charges 0.23% to PFF's 0.45%.

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Net assets: $11.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF, and $2.0bn on Oct 12, 2026 for Global X U.S. Preferred ETF.

PFF on its own →PFFD on its own →

At a glance

−4.2%

PFF total return, 1 year

−6.2%

PFFD total return, 1 year

0.45%

PFF expense ratio

0.23%

PFFD expense ratio

Pair scorecard

PFFD costs 0.22 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.0 points; PFF is 6.1 times larger.

PFF vs PFFD: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	PFF	PFFD
Return
Measure	PFF	PFFD
Total return, 1 year	−4.2%	−6.2%
Drawdown
Measure	PFF	PFFD
Below its high	7.1%, high on May 8, 2026	10.5%, high on Nov 5, 2021
Benchmark
Measure	PFF	PFFD
What it tracks	ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index	ICE BofA Diversified Core U.S. Preferred Securities Index
Cost and size
Measure	PFF	PFFD
Expense ratio	0.45%	0.23%
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026	$12.1bn	$2.0bn
Holdings
Measure	PFF	PFFD
Holdings in common	67%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	22.7%	21.2%

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

Risk and return

Sep 22, 2017 to Oct 23, 2026 · 474 weekly returns

PFF PFFD

Return

Total return edge PFF +24.0% +16.8%

Annualized edge PFF +2.4% +1.7%

Price return edge PFF −25.8% −31.8%

Risk

Volatility edge Tie 12.9% 12.9%

Max drawdown edge PFFD (slight) −27.2% −26.1%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge PFF 0.04 −0.01

Sortino edge PFF 0.06 −0.02

Calmar edge PFF 0.09 0.07

Reading

PFF returned more: +24.0% to +16.8%. PFF and PFFD swung about the same: 12.9% and 12.9%. PFFD fell slightly less at its worst: −26.1% to −27.2%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: PFF vs PFFD: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	PFF	PFFD	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+24.0%	+16.8%	PFF	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+2.4%	+1.7%	PFF	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−25.8%	−31.8%	PFF	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	12.9%	12.9%	Tie	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	9.2%	9.0%	Tie	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−27.2%	−26.1%	PFFD (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.04	−0.01	PFF	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.06	−0.02	PFF	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.09	0.07	PFF	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 474 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

67%

By the books each fund has filed, PFF and PFFD hold 67% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

67% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first PFF PFFD

BOEING COMPANY (THE) 6% SER A DEP SHS REPSTG 1/20TH INT MANDATORY CONV PFD 3.93% 4.70%

WELLS FARGO & COMPANY 7.5% NON-CUMULATIVE PERPETUAL CONVERTIBLE CLASS A PREFERRED STOCK, SERIES L 2.33% 2.25%

HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE COMPANY 7.625% SERIES C MANDATORY CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK 1.76% 2.71%

CITIGROUP CAPITAL XIII FIXED/FLOAT TRUST PREFERRED SECURITIES 1.31% 2.20%

BANK OF AMERICA CORP 7.25% NON-CUMULATIVE PERPETUAL CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK SERIES L 1.45% 1.30%

MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INC 7.50 % DEP SHS REPSTG 1/20TH PFD CONV SER A 1.16% 1.76%

NEE 7.299 06/01/27 1.08% 1.71%

KKR & CO. INC 6.25% SERIES D MANDATORY CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK 1.05% 1.70%

SO 7.125 12/15/28 A 1.01% 1.64%

JP MORGAN CHASE & COMPANY DEPOSITARY SHARES EACH REP 1/400TH INTEREST IN A SHARE OF JP MORGAN CHASE & CO 6% NON CUM PFD STOCK SER EE 0.95% 1.02%

JP MORGAN CHASE & COMPANY 5.75% DEP SHS REP 1/400TH INT SHS NON CUM PFD STK SER DD 0.83% 0.89%

NEE 7.234 11/01/27 0.76% 1.20%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in PFF

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%

ALBEMARLE CORP DEPOSITARY SHARES EACH REPRESENTING A 1/20TH INTEREST IN A SHARE OF 7.25% SERIES A MANDATORY CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK 1.29%

NEE 7.375 02/15/29 1.12%

BTSG 6.75 02/01/27 0.93%

APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT INC 6.75% SERIES A MANDATORY CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK 0.89%

PPL 7 02/15/29 0.57%

STRATEGY INC 10.00% SERIES A PERPETUAL STRIFE PREFERRED STOCK 0.47%

Only in PFFD

Qwest Corp PREFERRED STOCK 0.62%

FIDELITY COLCHESTER STR TR MONEY MKT GOV PORT 0.44%

Qwest Corp PREFERRED STOCK 0.42%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

PFF iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF PFFD Global X U.S. Preferred ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares Global X

What it is Tracks an index of Preferred and Income Securities Tracks an index

Total return, 1 year −4.2% −6.2%

Its benchmark over the same days +13.6% (MLRG) not measured

Gap to its benchmark −17.8 pts vs MLRG not measured

Expense ratio 0.45% 0.23%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.0%

Holdings 453 224

Net assets, PFF as of Oct 27, 2026 and PFFD as of Oct 12, 2026 $11.8bn $2.0bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-41F045270A

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

What each follows. PFF follows ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index and PFFD follows ICE BofA Diversified Core U.S. Preferred Securities Index.
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 PFF returned −4.2% and PFFD −6.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.0 points.
Cost. PFF charges 0.45% of assets a year and PFFD 0.23%, a gap of 0.22 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

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.

PFFD

PFFD tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −6.2% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.23% a year. By its holdings filed for May 31, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 224 positions, with the top ten at 21.2%. It sat 10.5% below its high of Nov 5, 2021 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, PFF or PFFD?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PFF returned −4.2% and PFFD −6.2%.
Which is cheaper, PFF or PFFD?: PFFD is cheaper, by 0.22 percentage points a year. That is about $22 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do PFF and PFFD overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of PFF and 0% of PFFD by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

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

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

PFF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

PFF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for PFF ↗

PFFD filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

PFFD prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Global X page for PFFD ↗

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

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