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Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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PREF vs VRP: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, PREF returned +0.6% to VRP's +1.6%, and VRP charges 0.50% to PREF's 0.55%.

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Net assets: $1.9bn on Oct 26, 2026 for Principal Spectrum Preferred Securities Active ETF, and $3.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for Invesco Variable Rate Preferred ETF.

PREF on its own →VRP on its own →
At a glance
+0.6%
PREF total return, 1 year
+1.6%
VRP total return, 1 year
0.55%
PREF expense ratio
0.50%
VRP expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VRP costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.0 point; VRP is 1.6 times larger.

PREF vs VRP: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasurePREFVRP
Return
Total return, 1 year+0.6%+1.6%
Benchmark
What it tracksNo index, actively managedICE Variable Rate Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.55%0.50%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026$1.9bn$3.0bn
Holdings
Holdings in common37%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund20.1%9.1%

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

Risk and return

Aug 4, 2017 to Oct 23, 2026 · 481 weekly returns
PREF VRP
Return
Total return edge VRP +39.8% +45.9%
Annualized edge VRP +3.7% +4.2%
Price return edge PREF (slight) −9.7% −10.4%
Risk
Volatility edge PREF 8.4% 12.4%
Max drawdown edge PREF −23.0% −30.8%
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge VRP 0.16 0.18
Sortino edge VRP 0.20 0.25
Calmar edge PREF 0.16 0.14
Reading

VRP returned more: +45.9% to +39.8%. PREF swung less: 8.4% to 12.4%. PREF fell less at its worst: −23.0% to −30.8%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
Risk and return: PREF vs VRP: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasurePREFVRPEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+39.8%+45.9%VRPPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+3.7%+4.2%VRPTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return−9.7%−10.4%PREF (slight)Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility8.4%12.4%PREFSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation6.8%8.8%PREFLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−23.0%−30.8%PREFDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.160.18VRPReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.200.25VRPReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar0.160.14PREFAnnualized 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

37%

By the books each fund has filed, PREF and VRP hold 37% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

37% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first PREF VRP
Bank of America Corp., due May 1, 2030 1.58% 1.12%
JPMorgan Chase & Co., due Apr 1, 2030 1.97% 1.10%
Bank of America Corp., due Jul 26, 2030 2.73% 0.91%
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., due May 10, 2029 1.19% 0.85%
Wells Fargo & Co., due Jun 15, 2031 1.47% 0.82%
JPMorgan Chase & Co., due Jul 1, 2031 1.41% 0.76%
Charles Schwab Corp., due Dec 1, 2030 1.17% 0.75%
Wells Fargo & Co., due Sep 15, 2029 1.60% 0.75%
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., due Nov 10, 2034 1.12% 0.72%
Wells Fargo & Co., due Sep 15, 2028 0.90% 0.65%
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., due Feb 10, 2030 0.64% 0.70%
Truist Financial Corp., due Sep 1, 2026 0.65% 0.61%
Only in one fund ↓
Only in PREF
Toronto-Dominion Bank, due Oct 31, 2082 2.07%
Bank of Nova Scotia, due Oct 27, 2082 1.83%
Truist Financial Corp., due Jun 15, 2031 1.51%
Electricite de France SA, due Mar 15, 2033 1.48%
MetLife, Inc., due Apr 8, 2068 1.34%
Bank of Montreal, due Nov 26, 2084 1.31%
Royal Bank of Canada, due Nov 24, 2085 1.25%
Bank of Nova Scotia, due Oct 27, 2085 1.25%
Only in VRP
Citigroup Capital XIII, Pfd. 0.92%
CVS Health Corp., due Mar 10, 2055 0.84%
Bank of America Corp., Series FF 0.83%
Vodafone Group PLC, due Apr 4, 2079 0.75%
JPMorgan Chase & Co., Series KK 0.72%
Charles Schwab Corp. (The), Series I 0.68%
Bank of America Corp., Series RR 0.60%
American Express Co. 0.57%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

PREF Principal Spectrum Preferred Securities Active ETF VRP Invesco Variable Rate Preferred ETF
Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF
Issuer Principal Invesco
What it is Actively managed Tracks an index
Total return, 1 year +0.6% +1.6%
Expense ratio 0.55% 0.50%
Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.0%
Holdings 160 367
Net assets, PREF as of Oct 26, 2026 and VRP as of Oct 27, 2026 $1.9bn $3.0bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-85EE832549

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

  1. What each follows. PREF follows No index, actively managed and VRP follows ICE Variable Rate Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index.
  2. Holdings in common. 37% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and May 31, 2026).
  3. One-year total return (similar). Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 PREF returned +0.6% and VRP +1.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 1.0 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund
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%.

VRP

VRP tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.6% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.50% 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 367 positions, with the top ten at 9.1%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, PREF or VRP?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PREF returned +0.6% and VRP +1.6%.
Which is cheaper, PREF or VRP?
VRP is cheaper, by 0.05 percentage points a year. That is about $5 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do PREF and VRP overlap with the S&P 500?
By their latest filed holdings, 0% of PREF and 0% of VRP by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.
Other comparisons
PFFD vs PREFFPEI vs PREFFPE vs PREFPFF vs PREFPFFD vs VRPFPEI vs VRPPGX vs VRPPFF vs VRP
Where to next
PREF on its own →VRP on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →PREF dividend history →PREF holdings →VRP dividend history →VRP holdings →Standards and sources →
Sources and dates
PREF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
PREF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
Principal website ↗
VRP filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
VRP prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
Invesco page for VRP ↗

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

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