VTI vs. PFF: What’s The Difference?

The Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares (VTI) and the iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF (PFF) are both among the Top 100 ETFs. VTI is a Vanguard Large Blend fund and PFF is a iShares Preferred Stock fund. So, what’s the difference between VTI and PFF? And which fund is better?

The expense ratio of VTI is 0.43 percentage points lower than PFF’s (0.03% vs. 0.46%). VTI also has a higher exposure to the technology sector and a higher standard deviation. Overall, VTI has provided higher returns than PFF over the past ten years.

In this article, we’ll compare VTI vs. PFF. We’ll look at performance and holdings, as well as at their risk metrics and industry exposure. Moreover, I’ll also discuss VTI’s and PFF’s portfolio growth, annual returns, and fund composition and examine how these affect their overall returns.

Summary

The Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares (VTI) is a Large Blend fund that is issued by Vanguard. It currently has 1.26T total assets under management and has yielded an average annual return of 14.70% over the past 10 years. The fund has a dividend yield of 1.26% with an expense ratio of 0.03%.

The iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF (PFF) is a Preferred Stock fund that is issued by iShares. It currently has 19.8B total assets under management and has yielded an average annual return of 6.90% over the past 10 years. The fund has a dividend yield of 4.47% with an expense ratio of 0.46%.

Fund Composition

Industry Exposure

The Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares (VTI) has the most exposure to the Technology sector at 24.1%. This is followed by Financial Services and Healthcare at 13.77% and 13.64% respectively. Basic Materials (2.44%), Energy (2.77%), and Real Estate (3.59%) only make up 8.80% of the fund’s total assets.

VTI’s mid-section with moderate exposure is comprised of Consumer Defensive, Industrials, Communication Services, Consumer Cyclical, and Healthcare stocks at 5.77%, 9.39%, 10.4%, 11.83%, and 13.64%.

The iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF (PFF) has the most exposure to the Utilities sector at 81.81%. This is followed by Industrials and Basic Materials at 10.27% and 3.74% respectively. Financial Services (0.0%), Consumer Defensive (0.0%), and Communication Services (0.0%) only make up 0.00% of the fund’s total assets.

PFF’s mid-section with moderate exposure is comprised of Energy, Technology, Real Estate, Healthcare, and Basic Materials stocks at 0.0%, 0.0%, 0.65%, 3.54%, and 3.74%.

Holdings

VTI’s Top Holdings are Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc, Facebook Inc Class A, and Alphabet Inc Class A at 4.9%, 4.6%, 3.33%, 1.88%, and 1.66%.

Alphabet Inc Class C (1.56%), Tesla Inc (1.18%), and Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B (1.09%) have a slightly smaller but still significant weight. NVIDIA Corp and JPMorgan Chase & Co are also represented in the VTI’s holdings at 1.07% and 1.06%.

PFF’s Top Holdings are Broadcom Inc Broadcom Inc 8 % Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock Ser A, BlackRock Cash Funds Treasury SL Agency, Wells Fargo & Co 7 1/2 % Non Cum Perp Conv Pfd Shs -A- Series -L-, Bank of America Corp 7 1/4 % Non-Cum Perp Conv Pfd Shs Series -L-, and ArcelorMittal S.A. 5.5% at 2.54%, 2.3%, 1.79%, 1.49%, and 1.36%.

Danaher Corp PRF CONVERT 15/04/2022 USD – Ser A (1.35%), Danaher Corp 5% PRF PERPETUAL USD 1000 – Ser B (1.14%), and NextEra Energy Inc Unit (1.12%) have a slightly smaller but still significant weight. Citigroup Capital XIII Floating Rate Trust Pfd Secs Registered 2010-30.10.4 and Avantor Inc Ser A are also represented in the PFF’s holdings at 1.08% and 0.99%.

Performance

Annual Returns

VTI had its best year in 2013 with an annual return of 33.51%. VTI’s worst year over the past decade yielded -5.13% and occurred in 2018. In most years the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares provided moderate returns such as in 2016, 2012, and 2010 where annual returns amounted to 12.68%, 16.41%, and 17.26% respectively.

The year 2012 was the strongest year for PFF, returning 18.25% on an annual basis. The poorest year for PFF in the last ten years was 2018, with a yield of -4.77%. Most years the iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF has given investors modest returns, such as in 2015, 2020, and 2017, when gains were 4.62%, 7.94%, and 8.33% respectively.

Portfolio Growth

A $10,000 investment in VTI would have resulted in a final balance of $42,648. This is a profit of $32,648 over 11 years and amounts to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.70%.

With a $10,000 investment in PFF, the end total would have been $20,272. This equates to a $10,272 profit over 11 years and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.90%.