FPE vs PFFD: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

First Trust Preferred Securities and Income ETF

FPEBNYSE Arca

Global X U.S. Preferred ETF

PFFDANYSE Arca

Overlap

No data

Expense ratio

PFFD −0.60pt a year

FPE0.83%PFFD0.23%

Avg volume · 30D

FPE 1.3×the volume

FPE1.4MPFFD1.06M

5Y return · a year

FPE +4.3pt

FPE+2.0%PFFD−2.3%

FPE vs PFFD Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+10.6%FPE−10.8%PFFD

Expense ratio: FPE 0.83%; PFFD 0.23%, better
Fund size: FPE $5.81B; PFFD $1.83B
1Y total return: FPE −1.9%, better; PFFD −5.7%
Yield (12M): FPE 6.38%; PFFD 7.07%, better
Holdings: FPE 264; PFFD 238
Avg volume (30D): FPE 1.4M sh, better; PFFD 1.06M sh
NAV per share: FPE $17.01; PFFD $17.00
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for FPE, PFFD, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	FPE	PFFD
Cost30% weight	F10	A100Higher
Mission25% weight	A90Higher	A75
Risk15% weight	B57Higher	D25
Tradability15% weight	A82	A83Higher
Holdings10% weight	A77Higher	C48
Durability5% weight	A90Higher	A72

Rank among Preferred Securities funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. FPE and PFFD are both graded against the same 31 Preferred Securities funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Preferred Securities⁠

Category · 31 funds

See all 31 ›

PFFD ranks 1st and FPE 10th of 31 funds in the Preferred Securities Category.

Rank 1APFFDGlobal X U.S. Preferred ETFScore 73
Rank 2APFFiShares Preferred and Income Securities ETFScore 71
Rank 9BJHPIJohn Hancock Preferred Income ETFScore 62
Rank 10BFPEFirst Trust Preferred Securities and Income ETFScore 58
Rank 10BGPRFGoldman Sachs Access U.S. Preferred Stock and Hybrid Securities ETFScore 58

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

FPEBFirst Trust Preferred Securities and Income ETF

PFFDAGlobal X U.S. Preferred ETF

In short

FPE A preferred-securities fund that doesn't stop at preferreds: the mandate also reaches into corporate bonds, high yield and convertibles. Running since 2013, big, actively traded, and it pays monthly.

PFFD Preferred 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.

Stated mandate

FPE The fund seeks total return and current income. It normally invests at least 80% of net assets in preferred securities and income-producing debt securities, including corporate bonds, high-yield securities, and convertible securities.

PFFD 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

FPE The 80% policy spans preferred securities and income-producing debt: corporate bonds, high-yield, convertibles. One ticker, several income markets instead of a single slice.
Live since 2013 and grown into a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, real staying power in a niche corner of the bond market.
Monthly distributions from a portfolio of roughly 240 positions, and one of the stronger overall showings among the preferred funds we grade.

PFFD 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

FPE The fee is 0.83% a year, well above the typical preferred ETF, and cheaper shelf-mates exist (EVPF at 0.20%, PFFV at 0.25%).
That wide mandate cuts both ways: high-yield and convertible holdings carry credit risk a plain investment-grade preferred sleeve would not.

PFFD Preferreds come mostly from banks and insurers, and the index has been concentrated in banking, so the ride tracks financial-sector health.globalxetfs.com
These securities behave more like long bonds than stocks: interest rate moves push prices around, as the fund's risk disclosures describe.globalxetfs.com
Monthly does not mean fixed. The payout size floats with what the portfolio collects.globalxetfs.com

Full FPE profile⁠

Full PFFD profile⁠

FPE vs PFFD Holdings

As of Oct 13, 2026

How FPE and PFFD differ

No overlap figure

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues.

Level by level

Countryby domicile60.2%
Asset classFixed Income100%

Sector

No Sector split for FPE.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in FPE and PFFD, widest gap first
Country	More in FPEMore in PFFD	FPE	PFFD
United States	PFFD +39.7 points	57.2%	96.9%
Canada	FPE +9.8 points	10.8%	1.0%
France	FPE +8.0 points	8.0%	0.0%
United Kingdom	FPE +6.1 points	6.1%	0.0%
Spain	FPE +3.4 points	3.4%	0.0%
Japan	FPE +2.8 points	2.8%	0.0%
Netherlands	FPE +2.1 points	2.1%	0.0%
Germany	FPE +1.7 points	1.7%	0.0%
Other countries (7)	FPE +6.0 points	8.1%	2.1%

Outside the US: FPE 85% developed, 15% emerging.

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

FPE15.0%
PFFD25.1%

Securities held

FPE215
PFFD238

Asset class

FPE: Fixed Income
PFFD: Fixed Income

Holdings

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues, so this page lists no shared Holdings. FPE holds 215 securities, PFFD 238.

All 263 FPE holdings⁠All 237 PFFD holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

FPE vs PFFD Cost

Overpaying FPE vs PFFD

$11,100

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

FPE 0.83%
$15,859
PFFD 0.23%
$4,759

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

FPE 0.83%
PFFD 0.23%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	FPE	PFFD	Overpaying
10	$1,474	$419	$1,055
20	$5,581	$1,630	$3,951
30	$15,859	$4,759	$11,100

Expense ratio

0.83%FPE
0.23%PFFD, cheaper

PFFD0.23%FPE0.83%

0.23%2.11%

Middle half of Preferred Securities funds
Median 0.50%

PFFD cheapest of 31 funds

FPE 28th cheapest of 31 funds

FPE vs PFFD Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): FPE 6.38%; PFFD 7.07%, better
Payout (12M): FPE $1.08; PFFD $1.20
Last payment: FPE $0.08; PFFD $0.10
Ex-dividend: FPE Oct 21, 2026; PFFD Oct 1, 2026
Paid on: FPE Oct 30, 2026; PFFD Oct 6, 2026
Frequency: FPE Monthly; PFFD Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

FPEMonthly · 46 paymentsAll FPE payments⁠

PFFDMonthly · 45 paymentsAll PFFD payments⁠

FPE vs PFFD Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

FPE
PFFD

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: FPE 5.7%, betterPFFD 9.1%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: FPE 0.80, betterPFFD 0.10
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: FPE −19.4%, betterPFFD −24.4%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: FPE 0.72PFFD 1.07; Market = 1

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