PREF bid-ask spread and liquidity

Principal Spectrum Preferred Securities Active ETF

BondsPrincipal$1.9bn net assets0.55% fee

Share on X Download as PDF

As of Oct 22, 2026, PREF’s median bid-ask spread over 30 days was 0.05%.

Ask IQ about this page

Ask IQ about PREF bid-ask spread and liquidity

Answers cite the figures on this page.

Overview Holdings Dividends Trading Flows Compare

IQ Liquidity Score

2 of 6 measured · Oct 22, 2026

Not scored

0 · Hard to trade100 · Trades like a giant

The IQ Liquidity Score: a fixed 0 to 100 scale of trading conditions, the same anchors for every fund; 100 is the easiest to trade. It measures how cheaply and reliably the fund trades, not whether to own it. Method →

One dealer

Cost to trade

0.05% median spread, 30 days to Oct 22, 2026

80.1

Capacity

Holdings can absorb up to $11m a day; part of the book has no volume figure

Price fidelity

Not measured · 13 days of closing premium are held, under the 20 needed

Primary market

3 active dealers of 16; largest 98% of creations and redemptions, N-CEN to Jun 30, 2026

50.0

Bad-day behaviour

Not measured · 0 of the 10 worst days and 13 other days are held, under the 5 and 60 needed

Depth

Not measured · needs trade and quote data (Phase 2)

Cost for your order

One way, half its 30-day median spread; sizes above $10,000 are estimates

PREF: cost for your order at each size, round trip
Order	Dollars	Percent	Basis
$1,000	$0.25	0.025%	spread
$10,000	$2.50	0.025%	spread

Spread 0.05% median, 30 days to Oct 22, 2026. Above $10,000 the cost adds an estimate of market impact that grows with the order against the holdings’ capacity; a patient limit pays less.

Premium or discount to value

Daily, 13 days to Oct 22, 2026 · the ±1% band marked

Latest close, Oct 22

−0.16%

95% of days within

±0.27%

Days more than 1% from NAV

0 of 13

Widest

−0.27%, Oct 14, 2026

Close against the NAV its issuer struck the same day, from the issuer. Source: ETFIQ.

Capacity

What the holdings can absorb a day, at 10% of each one’s volume

Holdings can absorb, at most

$11m

PREF’s holdings can absorb up to $11m a day, measured on its own holdings, as of Oct 22, 2026. Part of its book has no volume figure, so this is an upper bound.

The holding that sets the limit: TRANSCANADA PIPELINES (TCPA), 1.04% of the fund, $1m a day traded, the median of 20 days to Oct 22, 2026. Capacity is the least of the holding-level ratios over the holdings making up 95% of the weight.

Dealers

Authorized participants · N-CEN, the year to Jun 30, 2026

Active dealers

of 16 authorized

Largest

98%

of creations and redemptions

One dealer

3 active

3 of 16 authorized participants created or redeemed PREF shares in the year to Jun 30, 2026. From the fund’s Form N-CEN, filed Sep 10, 2026.

The active authorized participants, largest first, by share of the dollars created and redeemed: J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (98.1%), Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (1.4%), Virtu Americas LLC (0.5%). 13 more were listed and created or redeemed nothing.

How to trade PREF

To buy or to sell, up to $100,000

Order type: Limit: midpoint + 1¢ to buy, midpoint − 1¢ to sell.At the Oct 22 close of $18.31, that’s $18.32 to buy and $18.30 to sell.
When: ETF spreads are usually widest in the first minutes after the open and the last before the close.
Size: Part of its book has no volume figure, so the room for a large order is an upper bound.
Watch: The premium. On 95% of days it is within ±0.27%; beyond that a buyer pays more, and a seller gets less, than the holdings are worth.

Phase 2 · drawn now, filled when trade data arrives

Spread through the dayComing with trade data

Median spread by half hour, 30 days.

Buyers against sellersComing with trade data

Share of volume at the ask against at the bid.

Retail flow, estimatedComing with trade data

Sub-penny prints as a share of volume.

Large tradesComing with trade data

Prints above $500k, count and share.

Closing auctionComing with trade data

Share of the day’s volume at the close.

Questions people ask

What is PREF’s bid-ask spread?

0.05% of the midpoint, the median over the 30 days to Oct 22, 2026, as its issuer states it. Half of it is about 1¢ a share at the Oct 22 close.

Does PREF trade at a premium or discount to NAV?

It closed −0.16% from its NAV on Oct 22, 2026. On 95% of the 13 days to then it was within ±0.27%, and it closed more than 1% from NAV on 0 of them.

Who is the AP for PREF?

PREF’s latest Form N-CEN, for the period ending Jun 30, 2026, lists 16 authorized participants (APs), and 3 created or redeemed shares. The largest were J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (98.1%), Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (1.4%), Virtu Americas LLC (0.5%) of the dollars its APs created and redeemed.

Who is the LMM for PREF?

PREF’s lead market maker (LMM) on NYSE Arca is Jane Street Capital, LLC. Lead market maker per NYSE Arca, as of Oct 23, 2026.

What does it cost to trade $10,000 of PREF?

About $2.50 one way, 0.025%: half its 30-day median spread. In and out costs twice that.

How do I place a limit order for PREF?

Set the limit at the midpoint + 1¢ to buy, or the midpoint − 1¢ to sell, in your broker’s quote. At the Oct 22 close of $18.31, that’s $18.32 to buy and $18.30 to sell.

Sources and dates

SpreadPrincipal (fund page), 30-day median · to Oct 22, 2026

Premium to NAVETFIQ, close against the issuer’s NAV · Oct 6, 2026 to Oct 22, 2026

CapacityETFIQ, each holding’s 20-day median dollar volume · to Oct 22, 2026

DealersForm N-CEN · the year to Jun 30, 2026

Where to next

ETF trading costs and liquidity→Cost-to-trade checker→Why low volume does not mean illiquidguide →Limit orders vs market orders for ETFsguide →How the IQ Liquidity Score is builtmethod →PREF fund page→

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, PREF trading: cost, capacity, premium and dealers, data as of Oct 22, 2026. https://etfiq.com/funds/pref/trading/

Open data →

The score measures trading conditions, not the fund. ETFIQ makes no recommendations.