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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PFF returned −4.2% and VNQ +4.8%.

Which is cheaper, PFF or VNQ?

VNQ is cheaper, by 0.32 percentage points a year. That is about $32 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do PFF and VNQ overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 0% of PFF and 63% of VNQ by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

PFF vs VNQ: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, PFF returned −4.2% to VNQ's +4.8%; 2% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $11.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF, and $35.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Real Estate ETF.

PFF on its own →VNQ on its own →

At a glance

−4.2%

PFF total return, 1 year

+4.8%

VNQ total return, 1 year

0.45%

PFF expense ratio

0.13%

VNQ expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VNQ costs 0.32 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 9.0 points; VNQ is 2.9 times larger.

PFF vs VNQ: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	PFF	VNQ
Return
Measure	PFF	VNQ
Total return, 1 year	−4.2%	+4.8%
Drawdown
Measure	PFF	VNQ
Below its high	7.1%, high on May 8, 2026	8.3%, high on Jul 28, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	PFF	VNQ
What it tracks	ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index	MSCI US Investable Market Real Estate 25/50 Index
Cost and size
Measure	PFF	VNQ
Expense ratio	0.45%	0.13%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$12.3bn	$35.9bn
Holdings
Measure	PFF	VNQ
Holdings in common	2%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	22.7%	55.8%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, PFF and VNQ hold 2% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

2% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first PFF VNQ

PUBLIC STORAGE 0.18% 2.69%

DIGITAL REALTY TRUST INC 0.12% 3.68%

KIMCO RLTY DS REPRESENTING CLASS 0.10% 0.85%

SL GREEN REALTY CORP 0.10% 0.19%

VORNADO REALTY TRUST 0.10% 0.31%

GLOBAL NET LEASE CUMULATIVE REDE 0.09% 0.10%

PEBBLEBROOK HOTEL TRUST 0.09% 0.12%

DIVERSIFIED HEALTHCARE .625% SENIO 0.12% 0.09%

RLJ LODGING .95 CUMULATIVE CONVERT 0.16% 0.08%

UMH PROPERTIES INC 0.14% 0.07%

EPR PROPERTIES 5.75% CUM CONV PREF 0.07% 0.24%

INNOVATIVE INDUSTRIAL PROPERTIES I 0.07% 0.09%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in PFF

STRATEGY INC 3.53%

BOEING CO 3.11%

HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE CONV PR 2.36%

ALPHABET INC 2.31%

SUPER MICRO COMPUTER INC 2.27%

ALPHABET INC 2.26%

WELLS FARGO & COMPANY SERIES L 2.14%

ORACLE CORPORATION 2.06%

Only in VNQ

Vanguard Real Estate II Index Fund 14.51%

Welltower Inc 9.12%

Prologis Inc 6.86%

Equinix Inc 5.65%

American Tower Corp 4.32%

Simon Property Group Inc 3.69%

Realty Income Corp 2.85%

Vivmark Residential 2.46%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

PFF iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF VNQ Vanguard Real Estate ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares Vanguard

What it is Tracks an index of Preferred and Income Securities Tracks an index of US real estate

Total return, 1 year −4.2% +4.8%

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% 0.13%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 62.8%

Holdings 453 141

Net assets, PFF as of Oct 27, 2026 and VNQ as of Sep 30, 2026 $11.8bn $35.9bn

PFF and VNQ 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.

VNQ

VNQ tracks an index of US real estate. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +4.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.13% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 63% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 141 positions, with the top ten at 55.8%. It sat 8.3% below its high of Jul 28, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, PFF or VNQ?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PFF returned −4.2% and VNQ +4.8%.
Which is cheaper, PFF or VNQ?: VNQ is cheaper, by 0.32 percentage points a year. That is about $32 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do PFF and VNQ overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of PFF and 63% of VNQ by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

PFF vs SCHH PFF vs XLRE IYR vs PFF PFF vs XRT SPSB vs VNQ VGLT vs VNQ VBIL vs VNQ EMB vs VNQ

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

PFF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

PFF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for PFF ↗

VNQ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VNQ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VNQ ↗

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

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