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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PFF returned −4.2% and VCLT −5.9%.

Which is cheaper, PFF or VCLT?

VCLT 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 VCLT: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, PFF returned −4.2% to VCLT's −5.9%, and VCLT charges 0.03% to PFF's 0.45%.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about PFF and VCLT

Net assets: $11.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF, and $7.5bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF.

PFF on its own →VCLT on its own →

At a glance

−4.2%

PFF total return, 1 year

−5.9%

VCLT total return, 1 year

0.45%

PFF expense ratio

0.03%

VCLT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VCLT costs 0.42 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.7 points; PFF is 1.6 times larger.

PFF vs VCLT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	PFF	VCLT
Return
Measure	PFF	VCLT
Total return, 1 year	−4.2%	−5.9%
Drawdown
Measure	PFF	VCLT
Below its high	7.1%, high on May 8, 2026	17.8%, high on Sep 22, 2021
Benchmark
Measure	PFF	VCLT
What it tracks	ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index	Bloomberg U.S. 10+ Year Corporate Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	PFF	VCLT
Expense ratio	0.45%	0.03%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$12.3bn	$7.5bn
Holdings
Measure	PFF	VCLT
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 VCLT 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 VCLT

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 VCLT

ANHEUSER-BUSCH, due Feb 1, 2046 0.37%

CVS HEALTH CORP, due Mar 25, 2048 0.33%

META PLATFORMS, due Nov 15, 2055 0.28%

BOEING CO, due May 1, 2050 0.27%

PFIZER INVSTMNT, due May 19, 2053 0.27%

AMAZON.COM INC, due Mar 13, 2056 0.26%

ORACLE CORP, due Feb 4, 2056 0.24%

AT&T INC, due Sep 15, 2053 0.23%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

PFF iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF VCLT Vanguard Long-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 Long-Term Corporate Bond

Total return, 1 year −4.2% −5.9%

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% 0.03%

Holdings 453 2562

Net assets, PFF as of Oct 27, 2026 and VCLT as of Sep 30, 2026 $11.8bn $7.5bn

PFF and VCLT 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.

VCLT

VCLT tracks an index of Long-Term Corporate Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −5.9% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. It sat 17.8% below its high of Sep 22, 2021 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, PFF or VCLT?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PFF returned −4.2% and VCLT −5.9%.
Which is cheaper, PFF or VCLT?: VCLT 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

BOND vs PFF PFF vs TIP AGG vs PFF BND vs PFF IGLB vs VCLT SPLB vs VCLT SPSB vs VCLT EMB vs VCLT

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

PFF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

PFF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for PFF ↗

VCLT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VCLT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VCLT ↗

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

Open data →

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