Deep Dive
Financials drop 2.4% after the Fed's first hike since 2023 and a Bank of America fee warning
Global X - U.S. Preferred ETF
$17.47+0.11 (+0.63%)
- 0.23%
- $2.0B
- −3.4%
- 6.91%
- 0.8M sh
- $17.47
- low $17.35high $19.65
The ETF.net PFFD Grade
A
Score 73 out of 100
- 1 of 31
Score 73 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.A97 out of 100Rank 2 of 31Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A76 out of 100Rank 8 of 26Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.D28 out of 100Rank 27 of 31Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.A89 out of 100Rank 1 of 31Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.C46 out of 100Rank 21 of 29Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A73 out of 100Rank 10 of 31
Our read on PFFD
APreferred stock is a corner where fund fees usually run rich. PFFD turned up in 2017 charging 0.23% for a broad basket of U.S. preferreds, and it has paid monthly ever since. Cheap, plain-vanilla exposure to an income niche.
PFFD seeks to track the performance of the ICE BofA Diversified Core U.S. Preferred Securities Index before fees and expenses. It provides broad exposure to U.S. preferred stocks.
Why people hold it
- Charges 0.23% a year, which Global X notes is less than half the average fee among competing preferred funds.globalxetfs.com
- Holds roughly 220 U.S. preferreds tracking the ICE BofA Diversified Core index. Benchmark-like exposure, not a manager's shortlist.globalxetfs.com
- Pays distributions monthly, and has done so every year since its 2017 launch.globalxetfs.com
- A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, so entering and exiting is rarely the hard part.
Worth knowing
- Preferreds come mostly from banks and insurers, and the index has been concentrated in banking, so the ride tracks financial-sector health.assets.globalxetfs.com
- These securities behave more like long bonds than stocks: interest rate moves push prices around, as the fund's risk disclosures describe.assets.globalxetfs.com
- Monthly does not mean fixed. The payout size floats with what the portfolio collects.globalxetfs.com
PFFD Holdings
- Bonds
- 238
- 25%
- Ba 6 10/15/27 (BRBLC59)
Sectors
- Utilities84.9%
- Technology9.8%
- Industrials5.3%
Geography
- United States96.94%
- Bermuda2.10%
- Canada0.96%
PFFD 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.
PFFD$9,659
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 | PFFD |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −3.7% |
| 1 month | −3.6% |
| 3 months | −5.4% |
| 1 year | −3.4% |
| 3 years | +5.3% |
| 5 years | −1.5% |
| 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 | PFFD |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −3.7% | |
| 2025 | +3.2% | |
| 2024 | +7.1% | |
| 2023 | +6.9% | |
| 2022 | −20.2% | |
| 2021 | +5.1% | |
| 2020 | +8.9% |
PFFD in the news
PFFD Dividends
- 6.91%
- $1.20
- $0.10 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
PFFD Risk
- 9.5%
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.
- 0.01
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.
- −24.4%
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.
PFFD Cost
0.23%
PFFD0.23%
- The middle half of Preferred Securities funds
- Median 0.50%
1 of the 31 Preferred Securities funds charge less.
Other funds in Preferred Securities
- APFFiShares Preferred and Income Securities ETFExpense ratio 0.45%1 year return −1.1%
- 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%