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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PFF returned −4.2% and SHY +1.6%.

Which is cheaper, PFF or SHY?

SHY is cheaper, by 0.30 percentage points a year. That is about $30 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

PFF vs SHY: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, PFF returned −4.2% to SHY's +1.6%, and SHY charges 0.15% to PFF's 0.45%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $11.8bn for iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF and $27.4bn for iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF.

PFF on its own →SHY on its own →

At a glance

−4.2%

PFF total return, 1 year

+1.6%

SHY total return, 1 year

0.45%

PFF expense ratio

0.15%

SHY expense ratio

Pair scorecard

SHY costs 0.30 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.8 points; SHY is 2.3 times larger.

PFF vs SHY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	PFF	SHY
Return
Measure	PFF	SHY
Total return, 1 year	−4.2%	+1.6%
Drawdown
Measure	PFF	SHY
Below its high	7.1%, high on May 8, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	PFF	SHY
What it tracks	ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index	ICE U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	PFF	SHY
Expense ratio	0.45%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$11.8bn	$27.4bn
Holdings
Measure	PFF	SHY
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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, PFF and SHY 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 PFF SHY

Only in one fund ↓

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%

Only in SHY

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Apr 30, 2028 1.97%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jan 31, 2028 1.71%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jun 30, 2028 1.61%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Apr 30, 2029 1.51%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 31, 2029 1.49%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 15, 2027 1.48%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jun 30, 2029 1.47%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2028 1.40%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

PFF iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF SHY iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks an index of Preferred and Income Securities Tracks an index of 1-3 Year Treasury Bond

Total return, 1 year −4.2% +1.6%

Its benchmark over the same days +13.6% (MLRG) +1.7% (BBSB)

Gap to its benchmark −17.8 pts vs MLRG −0.1 pts vs BBSB

Expense ratio 0.45% 0.15%

Holdings 453 90

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $11.8bn $27.4bn

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

Alert

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.

SHY

SHY tracks an index of 1-3 Year Treasury Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.6% with distributions reinvested, against +1.7% for its benchmark, the ICE U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, PFF or SHY?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PFF returned −4.2% and SHY +1.6%.
Which is cheaper, PFF or SHY?: SHY is cheaper, by 0.30 percentage points a year. That is about $30 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

PFF vs VGSH IEI vs PFF PFF vs SCHP PFF vs USHY SHY vs SPSB EMB vs SHY SHY vs VGLT SHY vs VUSB

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

PFF and SHY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

PFF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for PFF ↗

SHY prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for SHY ↗

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 SHY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/pff-vs-shy

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