PFFD vs SPFF

PFFDAGlobal X U.S. Preferred ETF

SPFFCGlobal X SuperIncome Preferred 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.

SPFF Most preferred funds buy the whole market. SPFF shops at the top of the yield table: roughly 50 of the highest-yielding US preferreds, tracked by index rule and paid out monthly since 2012.

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.

SPFF The Fund seeks investment results that generally correspond to the price and yield performance of the Global X U.S. High Yield Preferred Index, before fees and expenses.

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.

• SPFF Income density is the design: the index ranks US preferred securities by yield and holds about 50 from the top, rather than spreading thin across the entire preferred market.globalxetfs.com
• Pays monthly, and has done so since the 2012 launch. That is a long, unbroken cadence for an income sleeve.globalxetfs.com
• Preferred payouts can be treated as qualified dividend income rather than ordinary interest, a tax wrinkle most bond funds cannot offer.globalxetfs.com
• The 0.48% fee sits near the middle of the preferred ETF pack. Not the discount aisle, not a premium either.

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

• SPFF About 50 positions means every name carries real weight. Broad preferred funds spread the same risk across hundreds of issues.globalxetfs.com
• Buying the highest-yielding preferreds means owning the paper the market prices most cautiously, and price swings have run hotter than the calmer end of the peer group.
• Cheaper builds exist in the same cohort (PFFV at 0.25%, EVPF at 0.20%), and SPFF's mid-size asset base and moderate volume mean spreads deserve a look on bigger orders.

Full PFFD profile⁠

Full SPFF profile⁠