PFF vs VPFF: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF

PFFANasdaq

VIRTUS INFRACAP PREFERRED AND INCOME SECURITIES ETF

VPFFFNYSE Arca

Overlap

10.8%by weight

Expense ratio

PFF −0.35pt a year

PFF0.45%VPFF0.80%

Avg volume · 30D

PFF 3371.5×the volume

PFF3.04MVPFF903

PFF vs VPFF Performance

Jul 31, 2026 – Oct 30, 2026

−5.2%PFF−5.2%VPFF

Expense ratio: PFF 0.45%, better; VPFF 0.80%
Fund size: PFF $11.7B; VPFF $1M
1Y total return: PFF −3.8%; VPFF No data
Yield (12M): PFF 5.73%; VPFF No data
Holdings: PFF 452; VPFF 99
Avg volume (30D): PFF 3.04M sh, better; VPFF 903 sh
NAV per share: PFF $28.50; VPFF $23.20
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for PFF, VPFF, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	PFF	VPFF
Cost30% weight	A73Higher	F13
Mission25% weight	A80	Not scored
Risk15% weight	D30Higher	D28
Tradability15% weight	A92Higher	F5
Holdings10% weight	B64Higher	D36
Durability5% weight	A97Higher	F23

Rank among Preferred Securities funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. PFF and VPFF 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 ›

PFF ranks 2nd and VPFF 30th 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 3BEVPFEaton Vance Preferred Securities and Income ETFScore 68
Rank 29CPFFAVirtus InfraCap U.S. Preferred Stock ETFScore 40
Rank 30FVPFFVIRTUS INFRACAP PREFERRED AND INCOME SECURITIES ETFScore 18
Rank 31FFXEDSound Enhanced Fixed Income ETFScore 14

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

PFFAiShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF

VPFFFVIRTUS INFRACAP PREFERRED AND INCOME SECURITIES ETF

In short

PFF Preferred stock is a clumsy market to shop one issue at a time. PFF, running since 2007, bundles roughly 500 US dollar preferreds and hybrids into a single heavily traded ticker and pays out monthly.

VPFF No data

Stated mandate

PFF The fund seeks to track an index of U.S. dollar-denominated preferred and hybrid securities, providing exposure to preferred stock and subordinated debt with an income-oriented mandate.

VPFF No data

Why people hold it

PFF One ticker buys roughly 500 US dollar preferreds and hybrids tracking the ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index, a corner most investors can't assemble issue by issue.
Distributions land monthly rather than quarterly, a steadier rhythm for anyone spending the income.
A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, so getting in and out is rarely the hard part.
Live since 2007, through the financial crisis and several rate cycles, with the same income-oriented mandate from a large index shop.

VPFF No data

Worth knowing

PFF 0.45% a year is the going rate in this niche (the peer median), but it's many times what broad stock index trackers like VT charge.
Preferreds and subordinated debt are hybrids: they rank below an issuer's senior bonds, so this trades on credit and rate conditions more than on earnings growth.
The mandate is US dollar issuers only, so there's no international preferred exposure here.

VPFF No data

Full PFF profile⁠

Full VPFF profile⁠

PFF vs VPFF Holdings

How PFF and VPFF differ

Overlap by weight

10.8%

Shared holdings make up 66.1% of VPFF and 12.8% of PFF.

Level by level

Asset classEquity, Fixed Income0.0%
Holdings64 in both10.8%
Sector11 Sectors47.6%
Countryby domicile96.6%

Sector

Sector weights in PFF and VPFF, widest gap first
Sector	More in PFFMore in VPFF	PFF	VPFF
Real Estate	VPFF +41.7 points	10.8%	52.5%
Financials	PFF +32.3 points	51.3%	19.0%
Utilities	PFF +9.7 points	9.7%	0.0%
Technology	PFF +7.6 points	9.6%	2.0%
Communication	VPFF +4.9 points	8.1%	13.0%
Industrials	VPFF +3.9 points	4.8%	8.7%
Energy	VPFF +1.3 points	0.5%	1.8%
Consumer Staples	PFF +1.2 points	1.2%	0.0%
Materials	PFF +1.1 points	1.1%	0.0%
Consumer Discretionary	VPFF +0.6 points	1.3%	1.9%
Health Care	PFF +0.5 points	1.6%	1.1%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in PFF and VPFF, widest gap first
Country	More in PFFMore in VPFF	PFF	VPFF
United States	PFF +3.4 points	100.0%	96.6%
Bermuda	VPFF +3.4 points	0.0%	3.4%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

PFF22.0%
VPFF20.5%

Securities held

PFF448
VPFF98

Asset class

PFF: Equity
VPFF: Fixed Income

Holdings

Only in PFF384
In both64
Only in VPFF34

Only in PFF

384 securities, 86.3% of PFF by weight

Strategy Inc3.45%
Boeing Co3.19%
Super Micro Computer Inc2.15%
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Conv Pr2.14%
Wells Fargo & Company Series L2.11%
Oracle Corporation2.11%
Nextera Energy Units1.77%
Nextera Energy Inc1.72%
Bank of America Corp1.43%
Citigroup Capital Xiii1.20%
Kkr & Co Inc1.07%
Southern Company (The)0.99%
Duke Energy Corp0.97%
Albemarle Corp0.96%
JPMorgan Chase & Co0.86%
JPMorgan Chase & Co0.74%
Wells Fargo & Company0.68%
JPMorgan Chase and Co Ds Repstg T0.65%
JPMorgan Chase Non-Cumulative Pref0.64%
Ares Management Corp0.63%
Bruker Corporation0.59%
PG&E Corporation0.55%
Ppl Corporation0.54%
AT&T Inc0.54%
Strive Inc0.54%
JPMorgan Chase Drc0.51%
Capital One Financial Corporation0.50%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc0.49%
Strategy Inc0.48%
AT&T Inc0.48%
Morgan Stanley0.47%
Bank of America Corp0.46%
Morgan Stanley0.46%
M&T Bank Corporation0.46%
Morgan Stanley Ds Representing F0.45%
Duke Energy Corp0.44%
Morgan Stanley0.43%
Bank Amer Ds Representing Non Cu0.43%
Allstate Corporation (The)0.42%
Morgan Stanley0.42%
Morgan Stanley0.41%
Morgan Stanley Ds0.41%
Morgan Stanley0.40%
Capital One Financial Corporation0.40%
Wells Fargo & Company0.39%
Athene Holding Ds Representing P0.39%
AT&T Inc0.39%
Novanta Tangible Equity Units0.39%
Bank of America Corp0.38%
Pinnacle Financial Partners Non Cu0.38%

Only in VPFF

34 securities, 32.5% of VPFF by weight

Flagstar Bank NA 6.375%2.36%
DigitalBridge Group Inc 7.150%2.01%
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co 7.625%1.82%
Oracle Corp 6.500%1.80%
Boeing Co/The 6.000%1.54%
KKR & Co Inc 6.250%1.53%
CION Investment Corp 7.500%1.49%
Apollo Global Management Inc1.48%
American National Group Inc 7.375%1.44%
Energy Transfer LP 9.250%1.42%
Ares Management Corp 6.750%1.07%
Chimera Investment Corp 9.000%0.98%
DigitalBridge Group Inc 7.125%0.94%
Rithm Capital Corp 8.750%0.94%
Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc 6.125%0.92%
AH Realty Trust Inc 6.750%0.91%
Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd 7.000%0.90%
TPG Mortgage Investment Trust Inc 10.718%0.69%
Array Digital Infrastructure Inc 5.500%0.69%
Triton International Ltd 7.625%0.68%
TPG Mortgage Investment Trust Inc 8.250%0.62%
TPG Mortgage Investment Trust Inc 8.000%0.61%
Adamas Trust Inc 9.875%0.54%
Adamas Trust Inc 9.125%0.50%
Adamas Trust Inc 10.807%0.50%
NextEra Energy Capital Holdings Inc 6.500%0.49%
NextEra Energy Inc 7.299%0.49%
NextEra Energy Inc 7.375%0.48%
NextEra Energy Inc 7.234%0.48%
Adamas Trust Inc 8.000%0.47%
Adamas Trust Inc 7.000%0.44%
Ready Capital Corp 6.250%0.43%
PG&E Corp 6.000%0.41%
Albemarle Corp 7.250%0.40%

Weight gaps

All 64 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in PFF and VPFF, widest gap first
Holding	More in PFFMore in VPFF	PFF	VPFF
Innovative Industrial Properties I	VPFF +2.12 points	0.07%	2.19%
Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises Inc	VPFF +2.08 points	0.07%	2.15%
Compass Diversified Holdings Fixed	VPFF +2.04 points	0.09%	2.13%
Kkr Real Estate Finance Trust Inc	VPFF +2.00 points	0.12%	2.12%
Summit Hotel Properties Inc	VPFF +1.95 points	0.06%	2.01%
Qwest CorpCTHH	VPFF +1.80 points	0.11%	1.91%
Franklin Bsp Realty Trust Cumula	VPFF +1.73 points	0.09%	1.82%
Brighthouse Financial IncBHFAN	VPFF +1.72 points	0.12%	1.84%
Redwood Trust IncRWTS	VPFF +1.68 points	0.05%	1.73%
Navient Prcnt Senior Notes Exp DJSM	VPFF +1.66 points	0.09%	1.75%
Sl Green Realty Corp	VPFF +1.41 points	0.10%	1.51%
Global Net Lease Inc	VPFF +1.40 points	0.05%	1.45%
Cto Realty Growth Inc	VPFF +1.40 points	0.05%	1.45%
Global Net Lease Pref Series A Inc	VPFF +1.34 points	0.08%	1.42%
Telephone Data Sys Drc Inc	VPFF +1.21 points	0.16%	1.37%
Ford Motor Company	VPFF +1.13 points	0.30%	1.43%
Telephone and Data Systems Inc	VPFF +1.12 points	0.23%	1.35%
Diversified Healthcare .25% SeniorDHCNL	VPFF +1.01 points	0.10%	1.11%
Valley National BancorpVLYPP	VPFF +0.97 points	0.06%	1.03%
Pebblebrook Hotel Trust	VPFF +0.96 points	0.04%	1.00%
Pebblebrook Hotel Trust	VPFF +0.93 points	0.06%	0.99%
Diversified Healthcare .625% SenioDHCNI	VPFF +0.90 points	0.12%	1.02%
Qwest CorpCTGG	VPFF +0.87 points	0.14%	1.01%
Oaktree Capital Group Llc	VPFF +0.88 points	0.07%	0.95%
Oaktree Capital Group Llc	VPFF +0.85 points	0.09%	0.94%
Vornado Realty Trust	VPFF +0.84 points	0.08%	0.92%
Rlj Lodging .95 Cumulative Convert	VPFF +0.84 points	0.16%	1.00%
Vornado Realty Trust	VPFF +0.84 points	0.10%	0.94%
Merchants BancorpMBINL	VPFF +0.83 points	0.11%	0.94%
Mfa Financial Inc	VPFF +0.83 points	0.12%	0.95%
Brighthouse Financial IncBHFAM	VPFF +0.83 points	0.07%	0.90%
Mfa Financial Inc	VPFF +0.81 points	0.07%	0.88%
Alphabet IncGOOGM	PFF +0.81 points	2.08%	1.27%
Chimera Investment Corp	VPFF +0.80 points	0.05%	0.85%
Kkr Group Finance Co Ix LlcKKRS	VPFF +0.79 points	0.15%	0.94%
New Residential Investment Corp	VPFF +0.78 points	0.24%	1.02%
Chimera Investment Corp	VPFF +0.78 points	0.14%	0.92%
Alphabet IncGOOGN	PFF +0.77 points	2.05%	1.28%
Kemper CorpKMPB	VPFF +0.72 points	0.07%	0.79%
Agnc Investment CorpAGNCP	VPFF +0.71 points	0.28%	0.99%
Synchrony Financial	VPFF +0.69 points	0.27%	0.96%
Corebridge Financial IncCRBD	VPFF +0.67 points	0.25%	0.92%
United States Cellular CorporationUZF	VPFF +0.66 points	0.03%	0.69%
Triton International Ltd	VPFF +0.63 points	0.06%	0.69%
Redwood Trust IncRWTQ	VPFF +0.60 points	0.04%	0.64%
Triton International Ltd	VPFF +0.57 points	0.08%	0.65%
Pennymac Mortgage Investment Trust	VPFF +0.55 points	0.08%	0.63%
Pennymac Mortgage Investment Trust	VPFF +0.54 points	0.08%	0.62%
Strategy IncSTRD	VPFF +0.48 points	0.37%	0.85%
Summit Hotel Properties Inc	VPFF +0.48 points	0.03%	0.51%
Ellington Financial Inc	VPFF +0.46 points	0.06%	0.52%
Ellington Financial Inc	VPFF +0.46 points	0.05%	0.51%
Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc	VPFF +0.43 points	0.08%	0.51%
Pitney Bowes Inc	VPFF +0.43 points	0.13%	0.56%
Compass Diversified Holdings	VPFF +0.42 points	0.05%	0.47%
Prospect Capital Corp	VPFF +0.43 points	0.04%	0.47%
Saul Centers Inc	VPFF +0.42 points	0.04%	0.46%
Hudson Pacific Properties Inc	VPFF +0.42 points	0.12%	0.54%
Banc of California Inc	VPFF +0.25 points	0.26%	0.51%
Microchip Technology IncorporatedMCHPP	PFF +0.24 points	0.99%	0.75%
Ready Capital CorpRCD	VPFF +0.17 points	0.05%	0.22%
Synchrony Financial	PFF +0.14 points	0.26%	0.12%
Vse CorpVSECU	PFF +0.04 points	0.19%	0.15%
Brightspring Health Services UnitsBTSGU	PFF +0.03 points	0.88%	0.85%

All 453 PFF holdings⁠All 99 VPFF 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.

PFF vs VPFF Cost

Overpaying VPFF vs PFF

$6,305

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

PFF 0.45%
$9,041
VPFF 0.80%
$15,346

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

PFF 0.45%
VPFF 0.80%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	PFF	VPFF	Overpaying
10	$812	$1,422	$610
20	$3,128	$5,393	$2,265
30	$9,041	$15,346	$6,305

Expense ratio

0.45%PFF, cheaper
0.80%VPFF

PFF0.45%VPFF0.80%

0.23%2.11%

Middle half of Preferred Securities funds
Median 0.50%

PFF 6th cheapest of 31 funds

VPFF 27th cheapest of 31 funds

PFF vs VPFF Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): PFF 5.73%; VPFF No data
Payout (12M): PFF $1.63; VPFF No data
Last payment: PFF $0.16; VPFF $0.17
Ex-dividend: PFF Oct 1, 2026; VPFF Oct 20, 2026
Paid on: PFF Oct 6, 2026; VPFF Oct 27, 2026
Frequency: PFF Monthly; VPFF Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

PFFMonthly · 45 paymentsAll PFF payments⁠

VPFFMonthly · 3 paymentsAll VPFF payments⁠

PFF vs VPFF Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: PFF 8.5%VPFF No data
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: PFF 0.22VPFF No data
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: PFF −21.1%VPFF No data
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: PFF 0.97VPFF 0.00; Market = 1

PFF and VPFF in the news

All news⁠

ETF Filings
BondBloxx registers a 0.22% core-plus bond ETF, and two funds still not for sale
Oct 21, 2026PFF
Deep Dive
Financials drop 2.4% after the Fed's first hike since 2023 and a Bank of America fee warning
Sep 19, 2026PFF

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PFF vs VPFF

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it

Worth knowing

How PFF and VPFF differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in PFF

Only in VPFF

Weight gaps

Cost over time

Year by year

Distribution history

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

BondBloxx registers a 0.22% core-plus bond ETF, and two funds still not for sale

Financials drop 2.4% after the Fed's first hike since 2023 and a Bank of America fee warning

How PFF and VPFF differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in PFF

Only in VPFF

Weight gaps