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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PFF returned −4.2% and TLT −7.9%.

Which is cheaper, PFF or TLT?

TLT 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 TLT: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, PFF returned −4.2% to TLT's −7.9%, and TLT 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 $47.4bn for iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF.

PFF on its own →TLT on its own →

At a glance

−4.2%

PFF total return, 1 year

−7.9%

TLT total return, 1 year

0.45%

PFF expense ratio

0.15%

TLT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

TLT costs 0.30 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.7 points; TLT is 4.0 times larger.

PFF vs TLT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	PFF	TLT
Return
Measure	PFF	TLT
Total return, 1 year	−4.2%	−7.9%
Drawdown
Measure	PFF	TLT
Below its high	7.1%, high on May 8, 2026	42.6%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Benchmark
Measure	PFF	TLT
What it tracks	ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index	ICE U.S. Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	PFF	TLT
Expense ratio	0.45%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$11.8bn	$47.4bn
Holdings
Measure	PFF	TLT
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 5, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,020 weekly returns

PFF TLT

Return

Total return edge PFF +94.0% +70.8%

Annualized edge PFF +3.4% +2.8%

Price return edge TLT −42.8% −7.3%

Risk

Volatility edge TLT 20.9% 14.2%

Max drawdown edge TLT −65.4% −47.8%

Downside capture 63.8% 101.2%

Beta 0.70 1.01

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge PFF 0.19 0.15

Sortino edge PFF 0.28 0.22

Treynor 0.056 −0.072

Calmar edge TLT (slight) 0.05 0.06

Against the benchmark

Alpha −3.5% a year 0.0% a year

Alpha t-stat −0.90 −0.01

Information ratio −0.37 −0.10

Tracking error 17.7% 0.7%

Each against its own benchmark: PFF against MLRG, Apr 5, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026; TLT against BBLB, Apr 28, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

PFF returned more: +94.0% to +70.8%. TLT swung less: 14.2% to 20.9%. TLT fell less at its worst: −47.8% to −65.4%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: PFF vs TLT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	PFF	TLT	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+94.0%	+70.8%	PFF	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+3.4%	+2.8%	PFF	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−42.8%	−7.3%	TLT	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	20.9%	14.2%	TLT	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	14.0%	10.0%	TLT	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−65.4%	−47.8%	TLT	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	37.7%	102.4%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	63.8%	101.2%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	0.70	1.01	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.34	1.00	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.19	0.15	PFF	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.28	0.22	PFF	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.056	−0.072		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.05	0.06	TLT (slight)	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	MLRG	BBLB		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	−3.5% a year	0.0% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−0.90	−0.01	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−11.0% to +4.0%	−0.8% to +0.8%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.37	−0.10		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	17.7%	0.7%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,020 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

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

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 TLT

U.S. Treasury Bonds, due May 15, 2055 4.46%

U.S. Treasury Bonds, due May 15, 2054 4.40%

U.S. Treasury Bonds, due Aug 15, 2053 4.18%

U.S. Treasury Bonds, due Feb 15, 2054 4.03%

U.S. Treasury Bonds, due Feb 15, 2056 3.94%

U.S. Treasury Bonds, due Aug 15, 2054 3.94%

U.S. Treasury Bonds, due Nov 15, 2053 3.92%

U.S. Treasury Bonds, due Feb 15, 2055 3.80%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

PFF iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF TLT iShares 20+ 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 20+ year Treasuries

Total return, 1 year −4.2% −7.9%

Its benchmark over the same days +13.6% (MLRG) −7.8% (BBLB)

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

Expense ratio 0.45% 0.15%

Holdings 453 47

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $11.8bn $47.4bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-B0D21532CE

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

What each follows. PFF follows ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index and TLT follows ICE U.S. Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index.
Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 PFF returned −4.2% and TLT −7.9% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 3.7 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.

TLT

TLT tracks an index of 20+ year Treasuries. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −7.9% with distributions reinvested, against −7.8% for its benchmark, the ICE U.S. Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. It sat 42.6% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, PFF or TLT?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PFF returned −4.2% and TLT −7.9%.
Which is cheaper, PFF or TLT?: TLT 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

EDV vs PFF PFF vs VGLT PFF vs VGIT PFF vs VCIT TLT vs ZROZ TLT vs XTEN SPTL vs TLT TLH vs TLT

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

PFF and TLT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

PFF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for PFF ↗

TLT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for TLT ↗

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

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