PFD vs SPY
Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Fund Inc vs State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust
Which is better, PFD or SPY?
Preferred Stock against Large Cap Blend.
SPY led over 1Y, 3Y, 5Y and the full window.
MarketXLS is not an investment adviser. This comparison is generated automatically from market data and is for information only. A Best mark means the better reading on that one measure, not a recommendation to buy.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Metric | PFD | SPY |
|---|---|---|
| Expense Ratio | - | 0.09% |
| AUM | $159M | $814.4B |
| Dividend Yield | 6.58% | 1.01% |
| Holdings | 245 | 505 |
| YTD Return | -0.39% | +13.34%Best |
| 1Y Return | +4.63% | +19.97%Best |
| 3Y Return (annualized) | +12.85% | +21.20%Best |
| 5Y Return (annualized) | -0.14% | +12.81%Best |
| Volatility (annualized) | 19.5% | 15.2%Best |
| Max Drawdown | -85.8% | -56.5%Best |
| $10,000 over 5 years | $9,930 | $18,270Best |
| Fund Family | Flaherty & Crumrine | State Street Investment Management |
| Category | Allocation/Balanced | Equity |
| Style | Preferred Stock | Large Cap Blend |
| Inception | Jan 31, 1991 | Jan 22, 1993 |
Not shown on this pair: Top 10 Weight.
Volatility and max drawdown are measured over the window both funds cover: Jan 2, 1996 to Sep 4, 2026 (30.7 years).
PFD vs SPY growth
Month-end closes. Both lines start at 0% in the first month shown, so the gap between them is the difference in growth across that window. The full view is available from the range buttons; it is not the opening view here because over the whole period one of these two funds moves so much further than the other that its line would sit flat on the axis.
PFD vs SPY Performance
Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Fund Inc (PFD) is an ETF from Flaherty & Crumrine and State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is an ETF from State Street Investment Management. Over the past year PFD returned +4.63% while SPY returned +19.97%. Year to date, PFD is down 0.39% versus a gain of 13.34% for SPY.
Over three years, PFD compounded at +12.85% per year against +21.20% for SPY; over five years the annualized figures are -0.14% and +12.81% respectively. Across the full 31-year window we track, SPY has the edge at +8.82% annualized vs +0.61%.
Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Risk: Volatility and Drawdowns
PFD has been the more volatile fund, with annualized monthly volatility of 19.5% compared with 15.2% for SPY. Lower volatility generally means a smoother ride, though it often comes with lower long-run returns.
The deepest peak-to-trough decline in our data was -85.8% for PFD and -56.5% for SPY. Drawdown depth is what each fund did in the worst stretch of the window measured above.
The two funds' monthly returns correlate at 0.36. They move together some of the time, and apart the rest.
Holdings Overlap
At least 0.5% of SPY's money is in holdings PFD also owns.
Only one direction is shown: for PFD, our book for it lists positions totalling 123.9% of the fund, which is what a leveraged book looks like and is not a denominator we can divide by.
We cannot see either book well enough to say how much of this pair is duplicated.
The two holdings books were reported 249 days apart, PFD as of Nov 28, 2025 and SPY as of Aug 4, 2026, so some of the difference between them is the time between the two reports rather than the funds.
7 positions in common, counted across the 180 positions we hold weights for in PFD and 503 in SPY, against full books of 245 and 505.
Top Shared Holdings
| Stock | Weight in PFD | Weight in SPY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| SYFSynchrony Financial | 1.31% | 0.04% | 1.27% |
| CFGCitizens Financial Group Inc | 0.89% | 0.05% | 0.84% |
| HBANHuntington Bancshares Inc./Oh | 0.75% | 0.05% | 0.70% |
| APOApollo Global Management Inc | 0.48% | 0.09% | 0.39% |
| XELXcel Energy Inc. | 0.39% | 0.07% | 0.32% |
| DTEDte Energy Co. | 0.39% | 0.04% | 0.35% |
| BKBank Of New York Mellon Corp/The Bk Us Equity | 0.22% | 0.16% | 0.06% |
You are not choosing between two funds in isolation.
Whichever of PFD and SPY you pick has to sit alongside everything else you own. Add the rest and see what the combination actually holds.
Free for up to 10 holdings. No account needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which performed better, PFD or SPY?
Over the past year PFD returned +4.63% vs +19.97% for SPY, so SPY leads on 1-year performance. Over the longest common window we track (31 years), PFD annualized +0.61% vs +8.82% for SPY. Past performance does not guarantee future results. This is information, not a recommendation.
Which is riskier, PFD or SPY?
PFD has been the more volatile fund at 19.5% annualized versus 15.2% for SPY. Worst drawdown: PFD -85.8% vs SPY -56.5%.
Should I hold both PFD and SPY?
PFD and SPY have a monthly-return correlation of 0.36, so their returns are far enough apart for the mix to behave differently from either one alone. This is information, not a recommendation.
Which pays a higher dividend, PFD or SPY?
PFD yields 6.58% while SPY yields 1.01%, so PFD currently pays the higher dividend yield.
Is SPY better than PFD?
SPY led over 1Y, 3Y, 5Y and the full window. Which one suits a particular account depends on what it is for. This is information, not a recommendation.