Deep Dive
Financials drop 2.4% after the Fed's first hike since 2023 and a Bank of America fee warning
Principal Spectrum Preferred and Income ETF
$18.67+0.04 (+0.21%)
- 0.60%
- $118M
- +1.2%
- 5.87%
- 0M sh
- $18.56
- low $18.48high $20.07
The ETF.net PQDI Grade
C
Score 48 out of 100
- 22 of 31
Score 48 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.D25 out of 100Rank 23 of 31Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A82 out of 100Rank 3 of 26Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.A71 out of 100Rank 5 of 31Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.F22 out of 100Rank 28 of 31Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.C42 out of 100Rank 22 of 29Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.C42 out of 100Rank 21 of 31
Our read on PQDI
CPreferred stock with a tax angle. PQDI actively picks global dollar-denominated preferred and capital securities screened toward payouts eligible for the lower qualified-dividend rate rather than ordinary-income treatment.
The Fund seeks to provide current income.
Why people hold it
- Built around the tax code: the mandate targets preferred and capital securities whose dividends are eligible for qualified-dividend treatment, a screen most preferred funds skip.principalam.combloomberg.com
- Active, not an index sleeve. Principal's Spectrum preferred team picks roughly 100 positions from across the global US dollar preferred and capital securities market.principalam.com
- Income shows up monthly, and the objective is stated plainly in the prospectus: current income, full stop.
Worth knowing
- At 0.60% a year, it runs above the median fee in its financials peer group and many times what index giants like XLF and VFH charge.
- Smaller fund, light trading. Spreads can be wider than on the household-name financial-sector ETFs, which matters most on larger orders.
- Preferred issuers cluster in banks and insurers, so this leans on financial-sector credit, and the tax-treatment edge only registers in taxable accounts.bloomberg.com
PQDI Holdings
- Bonds
- 126
- 26%
- Wells Fargo & Company Jr Subordina 12/99 Var
Sectors
- Financials95.6%
- Communication4.4%
Geography
- United States45.47%
- Canada17.00%
- United Kingdom10.82%
- France9.72%
- Netherlands4.26%
- Switzerland3.43%
- Spain2.94%
- Japan1.90%
- 4.45%
Developed 98% · Emerging 2%
PQDI 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.
PQDI$10,124
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 | PQDI |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −0.7% |
| 1 month | −1.5% |
| 3 months | −2.4% |
| 1 year | +1.2% |
| 3 years | +8.3% |
| 5 years | +2.7% |
| 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 | PQDI |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −0.7% | |
| 2025 | +8.5% | |
| 2024 | +10.0% | |
| 2023 | +6.3% | |
| 2022 | −9.6% | |
| 2021 | +3.1% | |
| 2020 | +9.8% |
PQDI in the news
PQDI Dividends
- 5.87%
- $1.09
- $0.09 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
PQDI Risk
- 4.5%
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.
- 0.68
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.
- −16.9%
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.
- 0.55
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
PQDI Cost
0.60%
PQDI0.60%
- The middle half of Preferred Securities funds
- Median 0.50%
22 of the 31 Preferred Securities funds charge less.
Other funds in Preferred Securities
- 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%
- CPRFDPIMCO Preferred And Capital Securities Active Exchange-Traded FundExpense ratio 0.88%1 year return +0.3%
- 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%