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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PFF returned −4.2% and VCIT −1.8%.

Which is cheaper, PFF or VCIT?

VCIT is cheaper, by 0.42 percentage points a year. That is about $42 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

PFF vs VCIT: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, PFF returned −4.2% to VCIT's −1.8%, and VCIT charges 0.03% 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 $66.6bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF.

PFF on its own →VCIT on its own →

At a glance

−4.2%

PFF total return, 1 year

−1.8%

VCIT total return, 1 year

0.45%

PFF expense ratio

0.03%

VCIT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VCIT costs 0.42 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.4 points; VCIT is 5.4 times larger.

PFF vs VCIT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	PFF	VCIT
Return
Measure	PFF	VCIT
Total return, 1 year	−4.2%	−1.8%
Drawdown
Measure	PFF	VCIT
Below its high	7.1%, high on May 8, 2026	3.2%, high on Feb 27, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	PFF	VCIT
What it tracks	ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index	Bloomberg U.S. 5-10 Year Corporate Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	PFF	VCIT
Expense ratio	0.45%	0.03%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$12.3bn	$66.6bn
Holdings
Measure	PFF	VCIT
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 May 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026. Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, PFF and VCIT hold 0% 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

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first PFF VCIT

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 VCIT

AMAZON.COM INC, due Mar 13, 2036 0.30%

BOEING CO/THE, due May 1, 2034 0.28%

META PLATFORMS, due Nov 15, 2035 0.27%

BANK OF AMER CRP, due Jul 22, 2033 0.27%

PFIZER INVSTMNT, due May 19, 2033 0.27%

ORACLE CORP, due Feb 4, 2036 0.27%

ANHEUSER-BUSCH, due Feb 1, 2036 0.27%

JPMORGAN CHASE, due Jul 25, 2033 0.25%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

PFF iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF VCIT Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares Vanguard

What it is Tracks an index of Preferred and Income Securities Tracks an index of Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond

Total return, 1 year −4.2% −1.8%

Its benchmark over the same days +13.6% (MLRG) −1.8% (SCHI)

Gap to its benchmark −17.8 pts vs MLRG 0.0 pts vs SCHI

Expense ratio 0.45% 0.03%

Holdings 453 2340

Net assets, PFF as of Oct 27, 2026 and VCIT as of Sep 30, 2026 $11.8bn $66.6bn

PFF and VCIT 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.

VCIT

VCIT tracks an index of Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.8% with distributions reinvested, against −1.8% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. 5-10 Year Corporate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. It sat 3.2% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, PFF or VCIT?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PFF returned −4.2% and VCIT −1.8%.
Which is cheaper, PFF or VCIT?: VCIT is cheaper, by 0.42 percentage points a year. That is about $42 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

LQD vs PFF IGIB vs PFF BNDX vs PFF PFF vs TLT SPSB vs VCIT EMB vs VCIT VCIT vs VGLT TIP vs VCIT

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

PFF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

PFF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for PFF ↗

VCIT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VCIT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VCIT ↗

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

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