Deep Dive
Financials drop 2.4% after the Fed's first hike since 2023 and a Bank of America fee warning
State Street SPDR ICE Preferred Securities ETF
$28.19+0.28 (+1.02%)
- 0.45%
- $632M
- −8.4%
- 7.60%
- 0.1M sh
- $28.07
- low $27.91high $33.17
The ETF.net PSK Grade
B
Score 68 out of 100
- 4 of 31
Score 68 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.A78 out of 100Rank 5 of 26Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.F23 out of 100Rank 28 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.A75 out of 100Rank 7 of 29Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A83 out of 100Rank 6 of 31
Our read on PSK
BMost preferred funds take the market as it comes. PSK's index counts only investment-grade-rated, $25-par preferreds, a quality filter written into the rules. Running since 2009, paying monthly.
The fund seeks to track the total return of the ICE Exchange-Listed Fixed & Adjustable Rate Preferred Securities Index before fees and expenses. Its mandate covers non-convertible preferred securities meeting specified size, listing, currency, rating, and liquidity requirements.
Why people hold it
- Index rules admit only non-convertible preferreds rated investment grade, at $25 par with $250M minimum size. That screen is written in, not a manager's call.ssga.com
- 0.45% a year, a touch under the typical fee in a preferred category where costs tend to run high.
- Trading since 2009 under State Street, with monthly distributions and roughly 160 issues in the book.
- Sits in the upper half of its preferred-ETF peer group in our review, backed by a long-running fund at a large, established shop.
Worth knowing
- Cheaper shelf-mates exist: PFFV runs 0.25% and EVPF 0.20%, though each slices the preferred market its own way.
- Preferreds sit low in the capital stack and move with both rates and credit, so price swings run wider than a plain bond fund's.
- A mid-sized, moderately traded fund rather than one of the category's household-name giants.
PSK Holdings
- Stocks
- 167
- 15%
- C-PN
Sectors
- Financials76.3%
- Utilities13.1%
- Real Estate4.3%
- Communication3.0%
- Consumer Discretionary2.6%
- Energy0.5%
- Industrials0.3%
Geography
- United States95.64%
- Bermuda2.76%
- Netherlands1.02%
- Canada0.58%
PSK Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
PSK$9,163
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 | PSK |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −7.3% |
| 1 month | −3.5% |
| 3 months | −6.6% |
| 1 year | −8.4% |
| 3 years | +3.1% |
| 5 years | −2.3% |
| 10 years | +1.4% |
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 | PSK |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −7.3% | |
| 2025 | +2.7% | |
| 2024 | +4.8% | |
| 2023 | +8.9% | |
| 2022 | −18.9% | |
| 2021 | +1.6% | |
| 2020 | +6.4% |
PSK in the news
PSK Dividends
- 7.60%
- $2.12
- $0.16 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
PSK Risk
- 9.3%
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.
- −0.22
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.
- −22.2%
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.
- 1.06
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
PSK Cost
0.45%
PSK0.45%
- The middle half of Preferred Securities funds
- Median 0.50%
5 of the 31 Preferred Securities funds charge less.
Other funds in Preferred Securities
- 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 —
- BVRPInvesco Variable Rate Preferred ETFExpense ratio 0.50%1 year return +2.1%
- BPFXFVanEck Preferred Securities ex Financials ETFExpense ratio 0.40%1 year return +5.0%
- BPGXInvesco Preferred ETFExpense ratio 0.50%1 year return −7.9%