Fund Evaluator:
First Trust Preferred Sec & Inc F (FPEFX)
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Best Performing in Preferred Stock Over the Last Year
| 5.5% | Cohen & Steers Preferred Sec & Inc Z (CPXZX) |
Fund Details
First Trust Preferred Sec & Inc F Overview
First Trust Preferred Sec & Inc F (FPEFX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Preferred Stock fund. First Trust launched the fund in 2011.
The investment seeks to provide current income and total return. The fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in preferred securities and other securities with similar economic characteristics.
About First Trust Preferred Sec & Inc F (FPEFX)
There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 8.80 years: Robert Wolf (2011), Eric Weaver (2020), Angelo Graci (2022). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and ICE BofA US IG Inst Captl TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. First Trust Preferred Sec & Inc F has 215 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 15.9% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
First Trust Preferred Sec & Inc F is part of the Hybrid Securities global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. First Trust Preferred Sec & Inc F has 41.2% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.5%. There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 42.1% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 55.5% (14.3% domestic bond, 41.2% foreign bond and 1.2% convertible bond). First Trust Preferred Sec & Inc F has 0.5% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $481 million in total assets, which is below the $549 million average for the Preferred Stock category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
FPEFX Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The First Trust Preferred Sec & Inc F expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Preferred Stock category. First Trust Preferred Sec & Inc F has an expense ratio of 1.30%, which is 17% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a D. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. First Trust Preferred Sec & Inc F has a portfolio turnover rate of 48%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 37% for the Preferred Stock category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, First Trust Preferred Sec & Inc F returned -0.1%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Preferred Stock category had an average return of -0.3%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.
First Trust Preferred Sec & Inc F has a trailing yield of 5.37%, which is below the 5.56% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly and its capital gains annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
First Trust Preferred Sec & Inc F Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 0.4%, 1.1 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 5.0% over the past year (grade of C), 8.8% over the past three years (grade of B) and 2.5% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 4.6% per year over the past 10 years (grade of B).
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FPEFX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| FPEFX Return (NAV) | -0.1% | -0.3% | 5.0% | 8.8% | 2.5% | 4.6% |
| FPEFX Grade | A | F | C | B | D | B |
| +/- Category | 0.2% | -0.7% | -0.2% | 0.5% | -0.2% | 0.1% |
| Preferred Stock Avg | -0.3% | 0.4% | 5.2% | 8.3% | 2.8% | 4.4% |
| FPEFX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 2.1% | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2.1% |
FPEFX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| FPEFX Return (NAV) | 0.4% | 9.1% | 10.7% | 5.7% | -11.9% | 4.6% | 6.2% | 16.7% | -4.7% | 11.4% | 6.0% |
| FPEFX Grade | F | B | A | D | C | B | B | C | C | B | B |
| +/- Category | -1.1% | 1.0% | 0.7% | -1.1% | -0.6% | -0.2% | 0.9% | -0.1% | -0.1% | 1.3% | 0.5% |
| Preferred Stock Avg | 1.5% | 8.1% | 9.9% | 6.8% | -11.3% | 4.8% | 5.3% | 16.8% | -4.6% | 10.1% | 5.4% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 5.2% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.42 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.11 - High |
| Category Risk Grade: | F (93% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.68 |
| R-Squared: | 57% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Small-Cap Value |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 5.4% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $199 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 0 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Other |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 48% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 3 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 15.6 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 8.8 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Wolf Robert (2011), Weaver Eric (2020), Graci Angelo (2022) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 4/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 215 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 15.9% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 41.2% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.5% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 42.1% |
| Domestic Bond: | 14.3% |
| Foreign Bond: | 41.2% |
| Convertible Bond: | 1.2% |
| Other: | 0.2% |
| Cash: | 0.5% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | First Trust |
| Phone Number: | 800-621-1675 |
| Website: | www.ftportfolios.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | March 2, 2011 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $2,500 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 750 |
| True No-Load: | Yes |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | 0.15% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 1.30% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.11% |
| Share Class: | First Trust Preferred Sec & Inc I |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 50 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 50 |
