Growth of $100
Green is what an investor who reinvested every payout would have; red is the price alone. The gap between them is the income. If the red line keeps falling, the payouts are partly your own money coming back.
Was the payout earned?
Over the last year PFFA paid 11.2% but its total return was -4.3%, so none of the payout was earned: the price fell by more than the fund paid out.
| Earned % (3 months) | below -100% |
| Earned % (1 year) | -43% |
| Earned % (full history, up to 5 yrs) | 33% |
Earned % = total return ÷ payouts. 100% means every dollar paid out was earned; below 100% means part of it came from the fund's own value. This is an economic measure based on market price, not the tax label on the payout.
Where the DT Score comes from
Total 33.1 / 100 · rank #285 of 420. How the score works
Risk
| Sortino ratio (1Y) | -1.28 |
| Sharpe ratio (1Y) | -1.00 |
| Steadiness vs S&P 500 | 153% |
| Beta to S&P 500 | 0.45 |
| Correlation to S&P 500 | 0.68 |
| Max drop (1Y) | -11.4% |
| Max drop (up to 5 yrs) | -22.7% |
| Trend | Downtrend |
| History | 5.0 yrs |
Vs. PFF (what it's built on)
| Upside capture | 85% |
| Downside capture | 88% |
| Capture ratio | 0.97 |
| Beta | 0.93 |
| Correlation | 0.85 |
| Tracking | – |
On days PFF rose, PFFA caught 85% of the gain; on days it fell, PFFA took 88% of the loss.
Payout history
Each bar is one payout (last 36 shown). Pays Monthly.
| Ex-date | Amount |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-20 | $0.1730 |
| 2026-09-21 | $0.1730 |
| 2026-08-20 | $0.1730 |
| 2026-07-20 | $0.1730 |
| 2026-06-22 | $0.1730 |
| 2026-05-20 | $0.1730 |
| 2026-04-20 | $0.1730 |
| 2026-03-20 | $0.1730 |
| 2026-02-20 | $0.1730 |
| 2026-01-20 | $0.1730 |
| 2025-12-22 | $0.1700 |
| 2025-11-20 | $0.1700 |
Funds that track the same thing
Other Preferreds income funds, ranked by DT Score. See them all · Compare PFFA with the top 3
| Fund | Category | Fwd rate | 12m yield | 1Y total ret. | Earned % 1Y | Upside capt. | Downside capt. | Tracking | DT Score | Momentum | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FPEI First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF | Preferreds | 6.2% | 6.1% | +1.6% | 27% | 33% | 28% | – | 38 | 58 | Downtrend |
| NPFI Nuveen Preferred and Income ETF | Preferreds | 6.8% | 6.2% | +1.9% | 30% | 30% | 24% | – | 36 | 59 | Downtrend |
| PFFD Global X U.S. Preferred ETF | Preferreds | 7.1% | 6.5% | -5.4% | -92% | 90% | 94% | – | 32 | 32 | Downtrend |
| PFFV Global X Variable Rate Preferred ETF | Preferreds | 7.4% | 7.8% | -0.5% | -4% | 41% | 39% | – | 29 | 52 | Downtrend |
| PFXF VanEck Preferred Securities ex Financials ETF | Preferreds | 4.8% | 6.0% | -0.6% | -16% | 134% | 123% | – | 28 | 30 | Downtrend |
| PSK State Street SPDR ICE Preferred Securities ETF | Preferreds | 6.8% | 6.9% | -7.5% | below -100% | 57% | 67% | – | 28 | 43 | Downtrend |
| EPRF Innovator S&P Investment Grade Preferred ETF | Preferreds | 6.5% | 6.5% | -7.3% | below -100% | 72% | 82% | – | 27 | 44 | Downtrend |
| PGX Invesco Preferred ETF | Preferreds | 8.0% | 6.9% | -7.2% | below -100% | 55% | 65% | – | 26 | 42 | Downtrend |
| FPE First Trust Preferred Securities and Income ETF | Preferreds | 5.8% | 6.3% | -0.8% | -15% | 40% | 39% | – | 24 | 53 | Downtrend |
| PFF iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF | Preferreds | 6.8% | 5.2% | -4.0% | -89% | – | – | – | 24 | 36 | Downtrend |
About PFFA
| Issuer | Virtus |
| Structure | ETF |
| Category | Preferreds |
| Strategy | Active preferred stocks with ~20% leverage and covered calls |
| Underlying | US preferreds |
| Exposure | Preferreds |
| Index linkage | No - active |
| Pays | Monthly |
| Expense ratio | – |
| Launched | 2018-05 |
| Uses leverage | Yes |
| Upside capped | Partial |
| Rate sensitivity | High |
| Return of capital common | Sometimes |
| Tax notes | Mix QDI/ordinary/ROC |
Research notes: High fee (~2.5% incl. interest). Verify.
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