Deep Dive
Financials drop 2.4% after the Fed's first hike since 2023 and a Bank of America fee warning
AAM Low Duration Preferred and Income Securities ETF
$19.17−0.03 (−0.16%)
- 0.45%
- $376M
- +3.2%
- 5.52%
- 0.1M sh
- $19.17
- low $19.06high $19.87
The ETF.net PFLD Grade
B
Score 55 out of 100
- 16 of 31
Score 55 of 100 falls in the B 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.C42 out of 100Rank 24 of 26Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.B63 out of 100Rank 11 of 31Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.C43 out of 100Rank 18 of 31Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.C40 out of 100Rank 24 of 29Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.B58 out of 100Rank 16 of 31
Our read on PFLD
BPreferred income on a shorter leash. PFLD tracks an ICE index built only from exchange-listed preferred and hybrid securities with five years of duration or less, and it pays monthly.
The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return of the ICE 0-5 Year Duration Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index.
Why people hold it
- The whole point is the duration screen: the ICE 0-5 Year Duration Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index keeps the portfolio at the short end of a market known for long, rate-sensitive paper.
- Income arrives monthly rather than quarterly, from a basket of roughly 160 preferreds and hybrids, so no single issuer's payout dominates the check.
- Rules, not hunches. It is passively managed against one published index, so the holdings follow a disclosed rulebook instead of a manager's mood, and it has run that way since launching in 2019.
Worth knowing
- At 0.45% it sits right at the median for index-tracking ETFs, but that cohort includes plain stock trackers like VT and SCHK charging under a tenth as much. Niche plumbing costs more.
- Short duration turns down interest-rate sensitivity, not credit risk. These are hybrid preferred securities, and they behave like hybrids when markets get jumpy.
- A mid-sized, moderately traded fund rather than a category heavyweight, so limit orders and a glance at the spread do more work here than in the giants.
PFLD Holdings
- Bonds
- 119
- 22%
- MS-PP
Sectors
- Financials67.2%
- Real Estate20.5%
- Consumer Staples6.1%
- Utilities2.2%
- Energy2.1%
- Industrials1.2%
- Consumer Discretionary0.5%
- Technology0.2%
Geography
- United States96.96%
- Canada1.90%
- Greece0.70%
- Bermuda0.44%
PFLD 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.
PFLD$10,320
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 | PFLD |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +2.1% |
| 1 month | −1.0% |
| 3 months | −0.8% |
| 1 year | +3.2% |
| 3 years | +4.6% |
| 5 years | +0.8% |
| 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 | PFLD |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +2.1% | |
| 2025 | +1.5% | |
| 2024 | +5.5% | |
| 2023 | +8.2% | |
| 2022 | −12.7% | |
| 2021 | +4.5% | |
| 2020 | +5.4% |
PFLD in the news
PFLD Dividends
- 5.52%
- $1.06
- $0.09 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
PFLD Risk
- 4.9%
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.
- −0.13
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.
- −15.5%
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.
- 0.48
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
PFLD Cost
0.45%
PFLD0.45%
- The middle half of Preferred Securities funds
- Median 0.50%
5 of the 31 Preferred Securities funds charge less.
Other funds in Preferred Securities
- BHBRDInvesco U.S. Hybrid Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.40%1 year return —
- BPGFInvesco Financial Preferred ETFExpense ratio 0.56%1 year return −7.7%
- CNPFINuveen Preferred and IncomeExpense ratio 0.56%1 year return +2.0%
- CFPEIFirst Trust Institutional Preferred Securities & Income ETFExpense ratio 0.85%1 year return +1.9%
- CFPFDFidelity Preferred Securities & Income ETFExpense ratio 0.59%1 year return −1.9%