PFFD vs PQDI: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Global X U.S. Preferred ETF

PFFDANYSE Arca

Principal Spectrum Preferred and Income ETF

PQDICNYSE Arca

Overlap

No data

Expense ratio

PFFD −0.37pt a year

PFFD0.23%PQDI0.60%

Avg volume · 30D

PFFD 62.8×the volume

PFFD1.06MPQDI16.9K

5Y return · a year

PQDI +4.9pt

PFFD−2.3%PQDI+2.6%

PFFD vs PQDI Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

−10.8%PFFD+13.6%PQDI

Expense ratio: PFFD 0.23%, better; PQDI 0.60%
Fund size: PFFD $1.83B; PQDI $123M
1Y total return: PFFD −5.7%; PQDI +0.1%, better
Yield (12M): PFFD 7.07%, better; PQDI 5.88%
Holdings: PFFD 238; PQDI 127
Avg volume (30D): PFFD 1.06M sh, better; PQDI 16.9K sh
NAV per share: PFFD $17.00; PQDI $18.59
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for PFFD, PQDI, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	PFFD	PQDI
Cost30% weight	A100Higher	D25
Mission25% weight	A75	A81Higher
Risk15% weight	D25	A71Higher
Tradability15% weight	A83Higher	F22
Holdings10% weight	C48Higher	C46
Durability5% weight	A72Higher	C40

Rank among Preferred Securities funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. PFFD and PQDI 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 PQDI 23rd 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 23CEPRFInnovator S&P Inv. Grade Preferred ETFScore 48
Rank 23CPQDIPrincipal Spectrum Preferred and Income ETFScore 48
Rank 25CSPFFGlobal X SuperIncome Preferred ETFScore 46

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

PFFDAGlobal X U.S. Preferred ETF

PQDICPrincipal Spectrum Preferred and Income ETF

In short

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.

PQDI Preferred 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.

Stated mandate

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.

PQDI The Fund seeks to provide current income.

Why people hold it

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.

PQDI 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.com bloomberg.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

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

PQDI 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

Full PFFD profile⁠

Full PQDI profile⁠

PFFD vs PQDI Holdings

As of Oct 13, 2026

How PFFD and PQDI differ

No overlap figure

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues.

Level by level

Countryby domicile48.1%
Asset classFixed Income100%

Sector

No Sector split for PQDI.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in PFFD and PQDI, widest gap first
Country	More in PFFDMore in PQDI	PFFD	PQDI
United States	PFFD +50.6 points	96.9%	46.3%
Canada	PQDI +13.7 points	1.0%	14.7%
United Kingdom	PQDI +11.8 points	0.0%	11.8%
France	PQDI +10.1 points	0.0%	10.1%
Netherlands	PQDI +4.2 points	0.0%	4.2%
Spain	PQDI +3.3 points	0.0%	3.3%
Switzerland	PQDI +3.3 points	0.0%	3.3%
Finland	PQDI +2.1 points	0.0%	2.1%
Other countries (3)	PQDI +2.1 points	2.1%	4.2%

Outside the US: PQDI 98% developed, 2% emerging.

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

PFFD25.1%
PQDI25.2%

Securities held

PFFD238
PQDI96

Asset class

PFFD: Fixed Income
PQDI: Fixed Income

Holdings

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues, so this page lists no shared Holdings. PFFD holds 238 securities, PQDI 96.

All 237 PFFD holdings⁠All 126 PQDI 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.

PFFD vs PQDI Cost

Overpaying PQDI vs PFFD

$7,058

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

PFFD 0.23%
$4,759
PQDI 0.60%
$11,817

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

PFFD 0.23%
PQDI 0.60%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	PFFD	PQDI	Overpaying
10	$419	$1,076	$657
20	$1,630	$4,116	$2,486
30	$4,759	$11,817	$7,058

Expense ratio

0.23%PFFD, cheaper
0.60%PQDI

PFFD0.23%PQDI0.60%

0.23%2.11%

Middle half of Preferred Securities funds
Median 0.50%

PFFD cheapest of 31 funds

PQDI 23rd cheapest of 31 funds

PFFD vs PQDI Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): PFFD 7.07%, better; PQDI 5.88%
Payout (12M): PFFD $1.20; PQDI $1.09
Last payment: PFFD $0.10; PQDI $0.09
Ex-dividend: PFFD Oct 1, 2026; PQDI Oct 1, 2026
Paid on: PFFD Oct 6, 2026; PQDI Oct 5, 2026
Frequency: PFFD Monthly; PQDI Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

PFFDMonthly · 45 paymentsAll PFFD payments⁠

PQDIMonthly · 45 paymentsAll PQDI payments⁠

PFFD vs PQDI Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

PFFD
PQDI

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: PFFD 9.1%PQDI 4.3%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: PFFD 0.10PQDI 0.89, better
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: PFFD −24.4%PQDI −16.8%, better
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: PFFD 1.07PQDI 0.55; Market = 1

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