Deep Dive
Financials drop 2.4% after the Fed's first hike since 2023 and a Bank of America fee warning
First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities & Income ETF
$18.56+0.05 (+0.27%)
- 0.85%
- $1.9B
- +1.9%
- 6.05%
- 0.4M sh
- $18.49
- low $18.30high $19.61
The ETF.net FPEI Grade
C
Score 51 out of 100
- 18 of 31
Score 51 of 100 falls in the C band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.F10 out of 100Rank 28 of 31Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A73 out of 100Rank 10 of 26Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.A77 out of 100Rank 4 of 31Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.C52 out of 100Rank 14 of 31Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.B69 out of 100Rank 12 of 29Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A76 out of 100Rank 8 of 31
Our read on FPEI
CPreferred income from the institutional side of the market: at least 80% of assets in institutional preferred securities and income-producing debt, roughly 170 positions, cash paid monthly.
The fund seeks total return and current income, investing at least 80% of assets in institutional preferred securities and income-producing debt securities under normal conditions.
Why people hold it
- A narrow, stated mandate: at least 80% of assets in institutional preferred securities and income-producing debt, chasing total return plus current income.ftportfolios.com
- Income arrives monthly, spread across roughly 170 positions rather than a handful of big bank issues.
- Billions in assets and steady day-to-day volume put it among the easier preferred funds to move in and out of, and it has held up in the upper half of its peer group.
Worth knowing
- Cost is the trade-off: 0.85% a year against a 0.49% median for preferred ETFs, with PFFV at 0.25% and EVPF at 0.20% anchoring the cheap end.
- Preferreds and income debt sit between stocks and bonds, so the ride reflects both credit conditions and interest rates, not just the coupon.ftportfolios.com
- No declared benchmark index to measure the portfolio against; what fills the 80% mandate is the manager's call.
FPEI Holdings
- Bonds
- 178
- 18%
- BANK OF AMERICA CORP Variable rate
Sectors
- Financials100.0%
Geography
- United States48.30%
- Canada14.66%
- France10.20%
- United Kingdom8.28%
- Spain5.80%
- Netherlands2.57%
- Germany2.53%
- Japan2.51%
- 5.16%
Developed 94% · Emerging 6%
FPEI Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
Not enough history yet.
FPEI$10,193
Returns run to the Oct 12, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | FPEI |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −0.3% |
| 1 month | −1.3% |
| 3 months | −2.5% |
| 1 year | +1.9% |
| 3 years | +9.6% |
| 5 years | +3.5% |
| 10 years | — |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | FPEI |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −0.3% | |
| 2025 | +9.8% | |
| 2024 | +10.9% | |
| 2023 | +6.3% | |
| 2022 | −8.2% | |
| 2021 | +4.6% | |
| 2020 | +6.7% |
FPEI in the news
FPEI Dividends
- 6.05%
- $1.12
- $0.09 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
FPEI Risk
- 5.1%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- 0.85
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −16.3%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 0.65
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
FPEI Cost
0.85%
FPEI0.85%
- The middle half of Preferred Securities funds
- Median 0.50%
27 of the 31 Preferred Securities funds charge less.
Other funds in Preferred Securities
- BPFLDAAM Low Duration Preferred and Income Securities ETFExpense ratio 0.45%1 year return +3.2%
- CNPFINuveen Preferred and IncomeExpense ratio 0.56%1 year return +2.0%
- CFPFDFidelity Preferred Securities & Income ETFExpense ratio 0.59%1 year return −1.9%
- CCSPFCohen & Steers Preferred and Income Opportunities Active ETFExpense ratio 0.59%1 year return +2.6%
- CEPRFInnovator S&P Inv. Grade Preferred ETFExpense ratio 0.47%1 year return −8.2%