Deep Dive
Financials drop 2.4% after the Fed's first hike since 2023 and a Bank of America fee warning
Virtus InfraCap U.S. Preferred Stock ETF
$19.42+0.04 (+0.21%)
- 2.11%
- $2.3B
- −0.5%
- 10.64%
- 0.9M sh
- $19.51
- low $19.35high $22.06
The ETF.net PFFA Grade
C
Score 41 out of 100
- 26 of 31
Score 41 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.F0 out of 100Rank 31 of 31Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.B66 out of 100Rank 11 of 26Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.D36 out of 100Rank 22 of 31Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.A76 out of 100Rank 7 of 31Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.C47 out of 100Rank 20 of 29Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.B69 out of 100Rank 11 of 31
Our read on PFFA
CMost preferred-stock funds just track an index. PFFA hand-picks its preferreds, borrows 20-30% to amplify the income stream, writes options on top, and pays monthly.
The fund seeks current income and, secondarily, capital appreciation through an actively managed portfolio of U.S. preferred stocks. It also uses options strategies and modest leverage to enhance income and total return.
Why people hold it
- Genuinely active, not an index in disguise: managers select and weight preferreds on valuation and research, and layer options strategies over the book.virtus.com
- Modest leverage, typically 20-30%, amplifies both income and price swings. That mechanism is the line between this and a plain preferred tracker.virtus.com
- Pays monthly, spread across roughly 200 preferred positions rather than a handful of concentrated bets.
- A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively for a niche corner, which helps keep bid-ask friction manageable.
Worth knowing
- The 2.11% expense ratio runs several times the typical fund in its income peer group. That is a real hurdle the strategy has to clear.
- Leverage cuts both ways: borrowed money deepens declines as well as gains, and preferreds are already sensitive to rates and credit stress.virtus.com
- It sits in a peer group of cheap dividend-growth funds (CGDV, TDVG, both well under 1%). Different asset class, different machinery, very different price tag.
PFFA Holdings
- Bonds
- 192
- 26%
- GOOGM
Sectors
- Real Estate39.2%
- Financials22.8%
- Communication14.2%
- Industrials8.9%
- Technology5.8%
- Energy4.5%
- Utilities4.2%
- Consumer Discretionary0.3%
- Health Care0.1%
Geography
- United States96.16%
- Bermuda3.11%
- Greece0.58%
- Canada0.12%
- United Kingdom0.03%
PFFA 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.
PFFA$9,951
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 | PFFA |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −3.2% |
| 1 month | −5.2% |
| 3 months | −5.2% |
| 1 year | −0.5% |
| 3 years | +11.3% |
| 5 years | +4.5% |
| 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 | PFFA |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −3.2% | |
| 2025 | +8.2% | |
| 2024 | +16.1% | |
| 2023 | +26.5% | |
| 2022 | −20.9% | |
| 2021 | +23.5% | |
| 2020 | −7.9% |
PFFA in the news
PFFA Dividends
- 10.64%
- $2.06
- $0.17 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
PFFA Risk
- 10.5%
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.
- 0.61
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.
- −22.7%
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.
- 1.07
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
PFFA Cost
2.11%
PFFA2.11%
- The middle half of Preferred Securities funds
- Median 0.50%
Every other Preferred Securities fund charges less.
Other funds in Preferred Securities
- CSPFFGlobal X - SuperIncome Preferred ETFExpense ratio 0.48%1 year return +5.2%
- CPFFRInfraCap REIT Preferred ETFExpense ratio 0.45%1 year return −2.9%
- CJPRFJPMorgan Preferred and Income Securities ETFExpense ratio 0.61%1 year return —
- CQTPIExchange Place Advisors Trust - North Square RCIM Tax-Advantaged Preferred and Income Securities ETFExpense ratio 0.60%1 year return +1.0%
- DFXEDSound Enhanced Fixed Income ETFExpense ratio 0.49%1 year return −2.7%