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Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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PFFA vs PREF: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, PFFA returned −3.4% to PREF's +0.6%, and PREF charges 0.55% to PFFA's 2.11%.

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Net assets: $2.5bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Virtus InfraCap U.S. Preferred Stock ETF, and $1.9bn on Oct 26, 2026 for Principal Spectrum Preferred Securities Active ETF.

PFFA on its own →PREF on its own →
At a glance
−3.4%
PFFA total return, 1 year
+0.6%
PREF total return, 1 year
2.11%
PFFA expense ratio
0.55%
PREF expense ratio

Pair scorecard

PREF costs 1.56 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.0 points.

PFFA vs PREF: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasurePFFAPREF
Return
Total return, 1 year−3.4%+0.6%
Drawdown
Below its high9.2%, high on May 8, 2026
Benchmark
What it tracksNo index, actively managedNo index, actively managed
Cost and size
Expense ratio2.11%0.55%
Net assets, PFFA as of Jul 31, 2026 and PREF as of Oct 26, 2026$2.5bn$1.9bn
Holdings
Holdings in common0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund22.9%20.1%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026. Method

Risk and return

May 25, 2018 to Oct 23, 2026 · 439 weekly returns
PFFA PREF
Return
Total return edge PFFA +64.9% +42.4%
Annualized edge PFFA +6.1% +4.3%
Price return edge PREF −25.2% −4.4%
Risk
Volatility edge PREF 27.3% 8.7%
Max drawdown edge PREF −59.0% −23.0%
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge PFFA 0.25 0.21
Sortino edge PFFA 0.37 0.25
Calmar edge PREF 0.10 0.19
Reading

PFFA returned more: +64.9% to +42.4%. PREF swung less: 8.7% to 27.3%. PREF fell less at its worst: −23.0% to −59.0%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
Risk and return: PFFA vs PREF: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasurePFFAPREFEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+64.9%+42.4%PFFAPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+6.1%+4.3%PFFATotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return−25.2%−4.4%PREFPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility27.3%8.7%PREFSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation18.6%7.1%PREFLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−59.0%−23.0%PREFDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.250.21PFFAReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.370.25PFFAReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar0.100.19PREFAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 439 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

0%

By the books each fund has filed, PFFA and PREF hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first PFFA PREF
Only in one fund ↓
Only in PFFA
STRATEGY INC VARIABLE RATE SERIES A PERPETUAL STRETCH PREFERRED STOCK 2.63%
FLAGSTAR BANK NA DEPOSITARY SHARES, EACH REPRESENTING A 1/40TH INTEREST IN A SHARE OF WFIXED-TO-FLOATING RATE SERIES A NONCUMULATIVE PERPETUAL PREFERR 2.56%
KKR & CO. INC 6.25% SERIES D MANDATORY CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK 2.54%
TELEPHONE & DATA SYSTEMS INC DEPOSITARY SHARES EACH REPRESENTING A 1/1,000 INTEREST IN A SHARE OF TELEPHONE AND DATA SYSTEMS, INC.S 6.000% SERIES VV C 2.38%
ENERGY TRANSFER LP 9.250% SERIES I FIXED RATE PERPETUAL PREFERRED UNITS 2.34%
BANC OF CALIFORNIA INC DEPOSITARY SHARES EACH REPRESENTING A 1/40TH INTEREST IN A SHARE OF 7.75% NON CUMULATIVE PERPETUAL PREFERRED STOCK SERIES F 2.16%
RLJ LODGING TRUST SERIES A CUMULATIVE CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED SHARES 2.08%
GLOBAL NET LEASE INC 7.50% CUM RED PFD SER D 2.07%
Only in PREF
Bank of America Corp., due Jul 26, 2030 2.73%
MetLife, Inc., due Mar 15, 2056 2.40%
Enbridge, Inc., due Jan 15, 2084 2.35%
Toronto-Dominion Bank, due Oct 31, 2082 2.07%
JPMorgan Chase & Co., due Apr 1, 2030 1.97%
PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., due Mar 15, 2030 1.84%
Bank of Nova Scotia, due Oct 27, 2082 1.83%
Charles Schwab Corp., due Jun 1, 2031 1.68%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

PFFA Virtus InfraCap U.S. Preferred Stock ETF PREF Principal Spectrum Preferred Securities Active ETF
Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF
Issuer Virtus Principal
What it is Actively managed Actively managed
Total return, 1 year −3.4% +0.6%
Expense ratio 2.11% 0.55%
Already in the S&P 500 0.8% 0.0%
Holdings 194 160
Net assets, PFFA as of Jul 31, 2026 and PREF as of Oct 26, 2026 $2.5bn $1.9bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-BE7AA73AD2

PFFA and PREF are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?

  1. Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026).
  2. One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 PFFA returned −3.4% and PREF +0.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 4.0 points.
  3. Cost. PFFA charges 2.11% of assets a year and PREF 0.55%, a gap of 1.56 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund
PFFA

PFFA is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −3.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 2.11% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 1% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 194 positions, with the top ten at 22.9%. It sat 9.2% below its high of May 8, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

PREF

PREF is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +0.6% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.55% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 160 positions, with the top ten at 20.1%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, PFFA or PREF?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PFFA returned −3.4% and PREF +0.6%.
Which is cheaper, PFFA or PREF?
PREF is cheaper, by 1.56 percentage points a year. That is about $156 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do PFFA and PREF overlap with the S&P 500?
By their latest filed holdings, 1% of PFFA and 0% of PREF by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.
Other comparisons
PFFA vs PFFDFPEI vs PFFAPFFA vs PFXFPFFA vs PGXPREF vs VRPPFXF vs PREFPFFD vs PREFFPEI vs PREF
Where to next
PFFA on its own →PREF on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →PFFA dividend history →PFFA holdings →PREF dividend history →PREF holdings →Standards and sources →
Sources and dates
PFFA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
PFFA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
Virtus website ↗
PREF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
PREF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
Principal website ↗

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.

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ETFIQ, PFFA against PREF, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/pffa-vs-pref

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