The Monthly Checks Banks and Landlords Pay: Inside PGX, FPE and KBWY

Once the paycheck stops, retirement income must come from somewhere else. For Invesco Preferred ETF (NYSEARCA:PGX) and First Trust Preferred Securities and Income ETF (NYSEARCA:FPE), that income comes from the banks, insurers, and utilities that issue preferred and hybrid securities. For Invesco KBW Premium Yield Equity REIT ETF (NASDAQ:KBWY), it comes from landlords collecting rent. All three funds declared a distribution in each of the last 12 months. Each check now has to compete with a 10-year Treasury yielding 4.98% as of November 10, and a 4.00% upper bound on the federal funds rate.

PGX: Checks Every Month, Moving Within a Set Range

PGX’s monthly record goes back to February 15, 2008. Over the last 12 months, payments ran from $0.0492 to $0.0638 per share, so the best month paid about 30% more than the lowest. The October check was $0.06052, compared with $0.06697 a year earlier. Payment usually lands between the 22nd and 28th, a few days beyond the ex-date. Trailing payouts of $0.68382 come to roughly 7.0% based on the $9.76 price.

Where the money comes from: PGX tracks the ICE BofA Core Plus Fixed Rate Preferred Securities Index, which holds both investment-grade and high-yield preferreds. Banks and insurers are major issuers in that market, so much of the check traces back to financial company balance sheets.

The catch: As the 10-year Treasury rose to 5.31% on October 5, PGX fell, and it is now down 9.33% over one year and 11.75% over five years. If rates drop, the risk shifts, because high-coupon preferreds can be called at par and refinanced more cheaply.

FPE: Month-End Checks With the Widest Swings

FPE pays on the last business day of the month, including October 30 and September 30. The amount changes much more than at PGX. Over the last 12 months, it ran from $0.0683 to $0.122, so the largest check was about 79% greater than the lowest. That large December payment explains why trailing payouts of $1.0816 are higher than the $0.9816 annualized forward rate. On a trailing basis, the fund yields about 6.4%.

Where the money comes from: As of July 31, 2026, FPE held about $6.3 billion in net assets. Its single largest position was a U.S. megabank debt security at roughly 2.5% of the fund. Banks from the U.S., Canada, and Europe are the core of the portfolio. Life insurers and reinsurers make up a second large group, and several utility and wireless carrier preferreds each account for more than 1%.

One note: the check moves from month to month, and much of the fund sits in debt-classified hybrids from foreign banks. Under bank capital rules, securities like these can include terms that let the issuer stop payments or write the security down. Call risk applies here as well. Its price has held up better than PGX’s, down 1.86% over one year and up 10.8% over five.

KBWY: Steady Monthly Rent Checks That Keep Shrinking

KBWY’s record runs back to January 4, 2011. Each month, the payment is announced a few days before the ex-date and goes out around the fourth week. Month-to-month changes are the lowest, but the trend has been down. Payouts fell from $0.12551 last November to $0.1198 in October, a drop of about 4.5%. Back in 2016, a single month paid $0.27757. Trailing payouts of $1.4734 work out to about 9.0%.

Where the money comes from: KBWY’s index weights small- and mid-cap equity REITs by dividend yield. That means the fund owns landlords that collect rent, and the highest-yielding landlords get the largest weights.

The catch: weighting by yield pushes money toward REITs whose share prices have already fallen, and the lowest-yielding landlords tend to feel higher borrowing costs first. Shares rose 16.2% over the past year, but the 10-year gain is just 2.07%, so most of the fund’s return over time has come from the checks themselves.

What Could Change These Checks Before Year-End

• Rates: the 10-year has eased from its 5.31% peak. Lower rates help preferred and REIT prices, but they also give issuers more reason to call preferreds.
• FPE’s December check: last year it went ex on December 12. Whether that larger payment repeats will shape the fund’s trailing yield.
• KBWY’s monthly trend: look for a pause in the steady drift lower.
• Preferred safety: a Forbes article this week asked how safe double-digit preferred dividends are, a reminder that issuer credit quality backs every one of these checks.

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