Understanding the John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II (HPF)

What this ETF is trying to do

The John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II, known by its ticker symbol HPF, is an ETF listed on the NYSE. This type of fund focuses on providing income to its investors. It aims to pay out regular amounts of money to those who own shares.

What the numbers show

As of July 16, 2026, the current price of one share is $15.94. Looking back at the last year, the price has gone up by 0.95%. However, when you look at the "total return," which includes the money paid out to investors, the one-year return is much higher at 10.6479%.

To see how this works, imagine you invested $10,000 into this ETF exactly one year ago when the estimated price was about $15.79 per share. If you only looked at the share price, your $10,000 would have grown very slightly. But because the fund also pays out money, your total value would be much higher than that initial $10,000.

Income and distribution explanation

This ETF is known for its high distribution yield of 9.3005%. This means it pays out a large amount of money relative to its price. The fund usually makes these payments every month, having made 12 distributions over the last year. Most of these payments happen on Mondays or Thursdays.

It is important to remember that a high yield alone can be misleading. A very high percentage might look attractive, but it does not tell you if the value of the ETF itself is staying healthy.

NAV erosion explanation

"NAV erosion" is a term used when the value of the underlying assets in an ETF drops over time. If an ETF's share price falls significantly from a high price to a much lower price, it can destroy your principal. Principal is the original money you put in. If the price collapses, you could lose more money than you gain from the monthly payments.

In the case of HPF, no price erosion was detected. The "erosion score" is listed as good, meaning the share price has not been steadily falling away.

Pros

• The one-year total return (10.6479%) is much higher than the price return alone.

• It provides regular monthly income.

• The fund shows no signs of severe price erosion.

Cons

• The year-to-date price return is slightly negative at -0.809%.

• High yields can sometimes hide risks in an investment.

Beginner takeaway

Income investors usually prefer ETFs that go sideways (stay at the same price) or move slightly up. They prefer this because it means their original investment stays safe while they collect the monthly payments. If an ETF's price collapses, the income might not be enough to make up for the lost money. For HPF, the total returns have been positive over the last year, even though the share price has stayed relatively steady.