PFFA vs ESML
Comparison between VIRTUS INFRACAP U.S. PREFERRED STOCK ETF (PFFA, ETF) and ISHARES ESG AWARE MSCI USA SMALL-CAP ETF (ESML, ETF).
5-Year PerformanceESML has outperformed PFFA, delivering a return of +6.8% compared to +6.4%
PFFA vs ESML - Performance Comparison
Key Characteristics
Financial metrics and valuation ratios
PFFA vs ESML - Historical Returns
Returns include dividend reinvestment.
PFFA vs ESML - Annual Returns (2018 - 2026)
Returns include dividend reinvestment.
| Year | PFFA | ESML |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | +1.53% | +12.63% |
| 2025 | +7.63% | +10.70% |
| 2024 | +16.02% | +12.55% |
| 2023 | +24.23% | +17.68% |
| 2022 | -20.79% | -18.01% |
| 2021 | +24.31% | +20.80% |
| 2020 | -8.05% | +19.56% |
| 2019 | +29.98% | +28.89% |
| 2018 | -7.08% | -10.88% |
PFFA vs ESML Drawdown Comparison
The maximum drawdown for PFFA was -70.52%, occurring on Mar 18, 2020. Recovery took 281 trading sessions.
The maximum drawdown for ESML was -41.97%, occurring on Mar 23, 2020. Recovery took 206 trading sessions.
The current PFFA drawdown is -2.29%. The current ESML drawdown is -2.70%.
| Rank | PFFA | ESML |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | -70.52% Feb 18, 2020 - Mar 30, 2021 | -41.97% Jan 16, 2020 - Nov 9, 2020 |
| #2 | -22.67% Dec 31, 2021 - Dec 29, 2023 | -28.61% Nov 8, 2021 - Jul 16, 2024 |
| #3 | -16.49% Aug 31, 2018 - Mar 15, 2019 | -26.68% Nov 25, 2024 - Sep 18, 2025 |
| #4 | -12.16% Oct 16, 2024 - Aug 4, 2025 | -25.31% Aug 29, 2018 - Nov 27, 2019 |
| #5 | -6.47% Feb 19, 2026 - Apr 17, 2026 | -9.04% Feb 26, 2026 - Apr 14, 2026 |
| #6 | -4.96% Mar 27, 2024 - May 15, 2024 | -8.34% Jul 16, 2024 - Sep 19, 2024 |
| #7 | -3.59% Sep 19, 2025 - Jan 8, 2026 | -7.95% Mar 15, 2021 - Apr 26, 2021 |
| #8 | -3.17% Nov 5, 2021 - Dec 30, 2021 | -7.83% Jun 8, 2021 - Oct 20, 2021 |
| #9 | -2.68% May 7, 2021 - May 28, 2021 | -7.16% Oct 27, 2025 - Dec 4, 2025 |
| #10 | -2.29% Aug 1, 2024 - Aug 13, 2024 | -6.29% Apr 28, 2021 - Jun 8, 2021 |
| #11 | -2.29% May 8, 2026 - Jun 5, 2026 | -5.39% Feb 24, 2021 - Mar 11, 2021 |
| #12 | -2.09% Oct 24, 2019 - Dec 18, 2019 | -4.31% Nov 11, 2024 - Nov 25, 2024 |
| #13 | -1.95% Feb 1, 2024 - Feb 23, 2024 | -4.08% Jan 20, 2021 - Feb 4, 2021 |
| #14 | -1.93% Sep 2, 2021 - Oct 14, 2021 | -4.07% May 6, 2026 - May 26, 2026 |
| #15 | -1.58% May 17, 2024 - May 31, 2024 | -4.06% Oct 6, 2025 - Oct 24, 2025 |
Correlation
Correlation between PFFA and ESML is 0.94 which considered as a very strong positive correlation - the stocks move almost identically together.
Dividend Comparison (2018 - 2026)
PFFA vs ESML dividend yield comparison.
| Year | PFFA | ESML |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 4.07% | 0.22% |
| 2025 | 9.47% | 1.08% |
| 2024 | 9.18% | 1.22% |
| 2023 | 9.56% | 1.31% |
| 2022 | 10.75% | 1.46% |
| 2021 | 7.64% | 0.94% |
| 2020 | 8.54% | 0.99% |
| 2019 | 10.02% | 1.10% |
| 2018 | 5.15% | 1.07% |
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