Deep Dive
Financials drop 2.4% after the Fed's first hike since 2023 and a Bank of America fee warning
iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF
$29.30+0.11 (+0.38%)
- 0.45%
- $12.2B
- −1.1%
- 5.59%
- 3M sh
- $29.41
- low $29.15high $32.02
The ETF.net PFF Grade
A
Score 71 out of 100
- 2 of 31
Score 71 of 100 falls in the A 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.A75 out of 100Rank 6 of 31Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A80 out of 100Rank 4 of 26Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.D35 out of 100Rank 23 of 31Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.A88 out of 100Rank 2 of 31Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.B61 out of 100Rank 13 of 29Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A97 out of 100Rank 1 of 31
Our read on PFF
APreferred stock is a clumsy market to shop one issue at a time. PFF, running since 2007, bundles roughly 500 US dollar preferreds and hybrids into a single heavily traded ticker and pays out monthly.
The fund seeks to track an index of U.S. dollar-denominated preferred and hybrid securities, providing exposure to preferred stock and subordinated debt with an income-oriented mandate.
Why people hold it
- One ticker buys roughly 500 US dollar preferreds and hybrids tracking the ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index, a corner most investors can't assemble issue by issue.
- Distributions land monthly rather than quarterly, a steadier rhythm for anyone spending the income.
- A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, so getting in and out is rarely the hard part.
- Live since 2007, through the financial crisis and several rate cycles, with the same income-oriented mandate from a large index shop.
Worth knowing
- 0.45% a year is the going rate in this niche (the peer median), but it's many times what broad stock index trackers like VT charge.
- Preferreds and subordinated debt are hybrids: they rank below an issuer's senior bonds, so this trades on credit and rate conditions more than on earnings growth.
- The mandate is US dollar issuers only, so there's no international preferred exposure here.
PFF Holdings
- Stocks
- 452
- 24%
- STRC
Sectors
- Financials50.8%
- Real Estate10.8%
- Technology9.8%
- Utilities9.4%
- Communication8.4%
- Industrials5.1%
- Health Care1.6%
- Consumer Discretionary1.3%
- Consumer Staples1.2%
- Materials1.2%
- Energy0.5%
Geography
- United States96.76%
- Bermuda2.13%
- Canada0.99%
- United Kingdom0.06%
- Greece0.06%
PFF Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
PFF$9,887
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 | PFF |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −1.9% |
| 1 month | −2.7% |
| 3 months | −3.0% |
| 1 year | −1.1% |
| 3 years | +6.5% |
| 5 years | +0.3% |
| 10 years | +2.9% |
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 | PFF |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −1.9% | |
| 2025 | +4.9% | |
| 2024 | +7.2% | |
| 2023 | +9.2% | |
| 2022 | −18.2% | |
| 2021 | +7.1% | |
| 2020 | +7.9% |
PFF in the news
PFF Dividends
- 5.59%
- $1.63
- $0.16 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
PFF Risk
- 8.8%
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.
- 0.14
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.
- −21.1%
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.
- 0.97
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
PFF Cost
0.45%
PFF0.45%
- The middle half of Preferred Securities funds
- Median 0.50%
5 of the 31 Preferred Securities funds charge less.
Other funds in Preferred Securities
- APFFDGlobal X - U.S. Preferred ETFExpense ratio 0.23%1 year return −3.4%
- BPFFVGlobal X - Variable Rate Preferred ETFExpense ratio 0.25%1 year return +1.4%
- BEVPFEaton Vance Preferred Securities and Income ETFExpense ratio 0.20%1 year return —
- BPSKState Street SPDR ICE Preferred Securities ETFExpense ratio 0.45%1 year return −8.4%
- BVRPInvesco Variable Rate Preferred ETFExpense ratio 0.50%1 year return +2.1%