Best Preferred Stock ETFs (2026)
Which preferred or convertible fund to hold for income — 8 funds ranked on cost, yield, return, risk and ETFValuer's overall grade.
Every figure on this page is recalculated from market data each day, so the ranking reflects current conditions rather than whenever this page was written. Educational content — not financial advice.
Top Picks Right Now
- cheapest in the group at 0.20%
- best risk-adjusted return (Sharpe 1.15)
- strongest 3-year return at +53.8%
- scores 69.0 on the overall model (grade B)
Ranked by ETFValuer's overall score. Recalculated every day from live market data — these positions change as the underlying numbers move.
At a Glance
Each superlative is measured within this group of 8 funds, not across the whole market.
All 8 Funds Ranked
| Fund | Category | Cost | Yield | 1Y | 3Y | Volatility | Max DD | Sharpe | AUM | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 ICVTiShares Convertible Bond ETF | Preferred & Convertible | 0.20% | 1.31% | +24.2% | +53.8% | 16.7% | -11.2% | 1.15 | $7.5B | 75.8 | B+ |
| 2 CWBState Street SPDR Bloomberg Convertible Securities ETF | Preferred & Convertible | 0.40% | 1.37% | +20.7% | +49.3% | 16.2% | -11.9% | 0.97 | $6.2B | 69.0 | B |
| 3 FPEFirst Trust Preferred Securities and Income ETF | Preferred & Convertible | 0.83% | 5.96% | +5.5% | +29.9% | 3.9% | -4.7% | 0.14 | $6.3B | 54.1 | C |
| 4 PFXFVanEck Preferred Securities ex Financials ETF | Preferred & Convertible | 0.40% | 6.42% | +5.8% | +22.8% | 9.7% | -11.9% | 0.08 | $2.6B | 54.1 | C |
| 5 PFFiShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF | Preferred & Convertible | 0.45% | 6.05% | +2.3% | +16.0% | 7.2% | -10.6% | -0.37 | $13.1B | 52.2 | C |
| 6 PFFDGlobal X U.S. Preferred ETF | Preferred & Convertible | 0.23% | 6.43% | +2.5% | +13.5% | 7.3% | -10.8% | -0.34 | $2.2B | 50.9 | C |
| 7 PGXInvesco Preferred ETF | Preferred & Convertible | 0.50% | 6.27% | +2.0% | +12.5% | 6.0% | -11.2% | -0.50 | $3.9B | 47.5 | D |
| 8 PSKState Street SPDR ICE Preferred Securities ETF | Preferred & Convertible | 0.45% | 7.06% | +1.5% | +8.9% | 5.9% | -10.3% | -0.59 | $708M | 44.4 | D |
Max DD is the deepest peak-to-trough fall over the measurement window. Sharpe ratio measures return per unit of volatility — higher is better. Every figure is recalculated daily.
What Makes a Good Fund Here
Preferred shares sit between bonds and equity: higher yields than investment-grade debt, but they fall with both interest rates and credit stress, and the issuers are overwhelmingly banks. That concentration is the risk people most often miss here.
The ETFValuer score blends trailing return, risk-adjusted return, expense ratio, maximum drawdown, fund size and volatility, each percentile-ranked against the full tracked universe, into a single 0-100 figure graded A+ to F. It is a systematic summary of past data, not a forecast — read it alongside the individual columns rather than instead of them.
Head-to-Head Comparisons
Full metric-by-metric breakdowns for the closest calls in this group.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best preferred stock ETF?
ICVT ranks highest of the 8 funds tracked in this group, scoring 75.8 (B+). The highest yield is PSK at 7.06%.
Are preferred stock ETFs safe?
They are riskier than investment-grade bonds. Preferred shares rank below debt in a bankruptcy, dividends can be suspended, and the sector is heavily concentrated in financial issuers — so they tend to fall hardest exactly when banks are under stress.
Compare any of these funds directly
Side-by-side metrics, holdings overlap and return correlation for any pair.