PFFD vs PREF: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Global X U.S. Preferred ETF

PFFDANYSE Arca

Principal Spectrum Preferred Securities Active ETF

PREFBNYSE Arca

Overlap

No data

Expense ratio

PFFD −0.32pt a year

PFFD0.23%PREF0.55%

Avg volume · 30D

PFFD 3.0×the volume

PFFD1.06MPREF351K

5Y return · a year

PREF +4.9pt

PFFD−2.3%PREF+2.6%

PFFD vs PREF Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

−10.8%PFFD+13.7%PREF

Expense ratio: PFFD 0.23%, better; PREF 0.55%
Fund size: PFFD $1.83B; PREF $1.9B
1Y total return: PFFD −5.7%; PREF +1.3%, better
Yield (12M): PFFD 7.07%, better; PREF 5.49%
Holdings: PFFD 238; PREF 192
Avg volume (30D): PFFD 1.06M sh, better; PREF 351K sh
NAV per share: PFFD $17.00; PREF $18.42
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for PFFD, PREF, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	PFFD	PREF
Cost30% weight	A100Higher	C40
Mission25% weight	A75Higher	B57
Risk15% weight	D25	A85Higher
Tradability15% weight	A83Higher	A72
Holdings10% weight	C48	B59Higher
Durability5% weight	A72Higher	B62

Rank among Preferred Securities funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. PFFD and PREF 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 PREF 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 10BGPRFGoldman Sachs Access U.S. Preferred Stock and Hybrid Securities ETFScore 58
Rank 10BPREFPrincipal Spectrum Preferred Securities Active ETFScore 58
Rank 13BHBRDInvesco U.S. Hybrid Bond ETFScore 56

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

PFFDAGlobal X U.S. Preferred ETF

PREFBPrincipal Spectrum Preferred Securities Active 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.

PREF Most preferred ETFs shop the $25-par retail aisle. PREF goes where the institutions trade: $1,000-par preferreds, hand-picked by an active team since 2017, with income paid out monthly.

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.

PREF The fund is actively managed and does not seek to track a specified index.

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.

PREF Targets $1,000 par preferreds, the institutional-lot corner most preferred funds skip, with a mandate built around current income rather than index replication.principalam.com
No benchmark to hug. Managers hold roughly 160 positions in preferred stock and junior subordinated debt from US and non-US issuers, and can shift as the market shifts.principalam.com
Income lands monthly, not quarterly.
Trading since 2017 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund: a seasoned strategy with a real book of assets behind it, not a launch-week experiment.

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

PREF Active pricing: 0.55% a year against a 0.44% peer-group median, and broad financials index funds like VFH and XLF charge under a tenth of a percent for a very different job.
There is no index to check the work against, so outcomes ride on the team's security selection.
Preferreds rank below bonds in the capital stack and the issuers skew financial, so stress in banks and insurers shows up here.principalam.com

Full PFFD profile⁠

Full PREF profile⁠

PFFD vs PREF Holdings

As of Oct 13, 2026

How PFFD and PREF differ

No overlap figure

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues.

Level by level

Countryby domicile70.0%
Asset classFixed Income100%

Sector

No Sector split for PREF.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in PFFD and PREF, widest gap first
Country	More in PFFDMore in PREF	PFFD	PREF
United States	PFFD +27.9 points	96.9%	69.0%
Canada	PREF +21.0 points	1.0%	22.0%
Japan	PREF +5.0 points	0.0%	5.0%
United Kingdom	PREF +2.3 points	0.0%	2.3%
Bermuda	PFFD +2.1 points	2.1%	0.0%
France	PREF +1.4 points	0.0%	1.4%
Germany	PREF +0.2 points	0.0%	0.2%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

PFFD25.1%
PREF18.7%

Securities held

PFFD238
PREF146

Asset class

PFFD: Fixed Income
PREF: Fixed Income

Holdings

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues, so this page lists no shared Holdings. PFFD holds 238 securities, PREF 146.

All 237 PFFD holdings⁠All 170 PREF 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 PREF Cost

Overpaying PREF vs PFFD

$6,145

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

PFFD 0.23%
$4,759
PREF 0.55%
$10,904

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

PFFD 0.23%
PREF 0.55%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	PFFD	PREF	Overpaying
10	$419	$988	$569
20	$1,630	$3,790	$2,160
30	$4,759	$10,904	$6,145

Expense ratio

0.23%PFFD, cheaper
0.55%PREF

PFFD0.23%PREF0.55%

0.23%2.11%

Middle half of Preferred Securities funds
Median 0.50%

PFFD cheapest of 31 funds

PREF 18th cheapest of 31 funds

PFFD vs PREF Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): PFFD 7.07%, better; PREF 5.49%
Payout (12M): PFFD $1.20; PREF $1.01
Last payment: PFFD $0.10; PREF $0.09
Ex-dividend: PFFD Oct 1, 2026; PREF Oct 1, 2026
Paid on: PFFD Oct 6, 2026; PREF Oct 5, 2026
Frequency: PFFD Monthly; PREF Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

PFFDMonthly · 45 paymentsAll PFFD payments⁠

PREFMonthly · 45 paymentsAll PREF payments⁠

PFFD vs PREF Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

PFFD
PREF

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: PFFD 9.1%PREF 4.4%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: PFFD 0.10PREF 1.06, better
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: PFFD −24.4%PREF −16.2%, better
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: PFFD 1.07PREF 0.58; Market = 1

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