Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
PFXF vs PREF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, PFXF returned +0.5% to PREF's +0.6%, and PFXF charges 0.40% to PREF's 0.55%.
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Net assets: $2.2bn on Oct 27, 2026 for VanEck Preferred Securities ex Financials ETF, and $1.9bn on Oct 26, 2026 for Principal Spectrum Preferred Securities Active ETF.
Pair scorecard
PFXF costs 0.15 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.1 points; PFXF is 1.2 times larger.
| Measure | PFXF | PREF |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +0.5% | +0.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 8.4%, high on Jun 2, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | ICE Exchange-Listed Fixed & Adjustable Rate Non-Financial Preferred Securities Index | No index, actively managed |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.40% | 0.55% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $2.2bn | $1.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 46.1% | 20.1% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Aug 4, 2017 to Oct 23, 2026 · 481 weekly returnsPFXF returned more: +48.1% to +39.8%. PREF swung less: 8.4% to 14.0%. PREF fell less at its worst: −23.0% to −29.2%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | PFXF | PREF | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +48.1% | +39.8% | PFXF | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +4.3% | +3.7% | PFXF | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −16.1% | −9.7% | PREF | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 14.0% | 8.4% | PREF | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 9.8% | 6.8% | PREF | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −29.2% | −23.0% | PREF | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.18 | 0.16 | PFXF | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.26 | 0.20 | PFXF | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.15 | 0.16 | PREF (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 481 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, PFXF and PREF hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
PFXF and PREF on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
PFXF and PREF are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. PFXF follows ICE Exchange-Listed Fixed & Adjustable Rate Non-Financial Preferred Securities Index and PREF follows No index, actively managed.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jun 30, 2026).
- Cost. PFXF charges 0.40% of assets a year and PREF 0.55%, a gap of 0.15 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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PFXF
PFXF tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +0.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.40% 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 116 positions, with the top ten at 46.1%. It sat 8.4% below its high of Jun 2, 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, PFXF or PREF?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PFXF returned +0.5% and PREF +0.6%.
- Which is cheaper, PFXF or PREF?
- PFXF is cheaper, by 0.15 percentage points a year. That is about $15 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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, PFXF against PREF, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/pfxf-vs-pref
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). PFXF against PREF. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/pfxf-vs-pref
[PFXF against PREF (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/pfxf-vs-pref)
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