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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PFF returned −4.2% and VCSH +1.3%.

Which is cheaper, PFF or VCSH?

VCSH 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 VCSH: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, PFF returned −4.2% to VCSH's +1.3%, and VCSH 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 $43.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF.

PFF on its own →VCSH on its own →

At a glance

−4.2%

PFF total return, 1 year

+1.3%

VCSH total return, 1 year

0.45%

PFF expense ratio

0.03%

VCSH expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VCSH costs 0.42 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.5 points; VCSH is 3.6 times larger.

PFF vs VCSH: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	PFF	VCSH
Return
Measure	PFF	VCSH
Total return, 1 year	−4.2%	+1.3%
Drawdown
Measure	PFF	VCSH
Below its high	7.1%, high on May 8, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	PFF	VCSH
What it tracks	ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index	Bloomberg U.S. 1-5 Year Corporate Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	PFF	VCSH
Expense ratio	0.45%	0.03%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$12.3bn	$43.9bn
Holdings
Measure	PFF	VCSH
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 VCSH 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 VCSH

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 VCSH

US TREASURY N/B, due May 31, 2028 0.83%

BANK OF AMER CRP, due Dec 20, 2028 0.23%

ABBVIE INC, due Nov 21, 2029 0.21%

CVS HEALTH CORP, due Mar 25, 2028 0.20%

T-MOBILE USA INC, due Apr 15, 2030 0.19%

BOEING CO, due May 1, 2030 0.19%

WELLS FARGO CO, due Jul 25, 2029 0.18%

JPMORGAN CHASE, due Apr 23, 2032 0.18%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

PFF iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF VCSH Vanguard Short-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 Short-Term Corporate Bond

Total return, 1 year −4.2% +1.3%

Its benchmark over the same days +13.6% (MLRG) +1.3% (SCHJ)

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

Expense ratio 0.45% 0.03%

Holdings 453 3064

Net assets, PFF as of Oct 27, 2026 and VCSH as of Sep 30, 2026 $11.8bn $43.9bn

PFF and VCSH 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.

VCSH

VCSH tracks an index of Short-Term Corporate Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.3% with distributions reinvested, against +1.3% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. 1-5 Year Corporate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, PFF or VCSH?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PFF returned −4.2% and VCSH +1.3%.
Which is cheaper, PFF or VCSH?: VCSH 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

PFF vs SPSB BSV vs PFF IGSB vs PFF PFF vs VCLT EMB vs VCSH VCSH vs VGLT VCSH vs VUSB TIP vs VCSH

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

PFF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

PFF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for PFF ↗

VCSH filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VCSH prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VCSH ↗

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

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