Which returned more over the last year, PULS or QUAL?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PULS returned +4.0% and QUAL +13.1%.

Which is cheaper, PULS or QUAL?

Neither: PULS and QUAL both charge 0.15% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

PULS vs QUAL: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, PULS returned +4.0% to QUAL's +13.1%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $19.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for PGIM Ultra Short Bond ETF, and $48.2bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF.

PULS on its own →QUAL on its own →

At a glance

+4.0%

PULS total return, 1 year

+13.1%

QUAL total return, 1 year

0.15%

PULS expense ratio

0.15%

QUAL expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.15% a year; their one-year returns differ by 9.1 points; QUAL is 2.4 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

PULS vs QUAL: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	PULS	QUAL
Return
Measure	PULS	QUAL
Total return, 1 year	+4.0%	+13.1%
Benchmark
Measure	PULS	QUAL
What it tracks	No index, actively managed	MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index
Cost and size
Measure	PULS	QUAL
Expense ratio	0.15%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026	$19.8bn	$48.3bn
Holdings
Measure	PULS	QUAL
Holdings in common	0%
In the S&P 500, by weight		97%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		44.5%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 29, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, PULS and QUAL hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 29, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first PULS QUAL

Only in one fund ↓

Only in PULS

PGIM ETF Trust 1.81%

GLENCORE FUNDING LLC 0.74%

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. 0.66%

ABN AMRO BANK NV 0.57%

BX TRUST 2022-LBA6 0.51%

FEDERATION DES CAISSES DESJARDINS DU QUEBEC 0.51%

BX TRUST 2018-BILT 0.43%

BROADCOM INC 0.43%

Only in QUAL

MICROSOFT 8.09%

APPLE 7.38%

NVIDIA 6.28%

META PLATFORMS CLASS A 4.06%

ELI LILLY 4.04%

TJX 3.50%

VISA CLASS A 3.44%

LAM RESEARCH 2.84%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

PULS PGIM Ultra Short Bond ETF QUAL iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Stock ETF

Issuer PGIM iShares

What it is Actively managed Tracks the MSCI USA Quality Factor

Total return, 1 year +4.0% +13.1%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +13.6% (MLRG)

Gap to its benchmark not measured −0.5 pts vs MLRG

Expense ratio 0.15% 0.15%

Holdings 553 119

Net assets, PULS as of Oct 27, 2026 and QUAL as of Oct 28, 2026 $19.8bn $48.2bn

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

Alert

About each fund

PULS

PULS is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +4.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year.

QUAL

QUAL tracks the MSCI USA Quality Factor. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.1% with distributions reinvested, against +13.6% for its benchmark, the MSCI USA Index. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 119 positions, with the top ten at 44.5%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, PULS or QUAL?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PULS returned +4.0% and QUAL +13.1%.
Which is cheaper, PULS or QUAL?: Neither: PULS and QUAL both charge 0.15% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

PULS vs RDVY PULS vs VIG PULS vs SPYM PULS vs XLG QUAL vs SHV QUAL vs USFR BOXX vs QUAL QUAL vs VBIL

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

PULS filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

PULS prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

PGIM website ↗

QUAL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

QUAL prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for QUAL ↗

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, PULS against QUAL, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/puls-vs-qual

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