ETF Report: Principal Real Estate Income Fund (PGZ)

What this ETF is trying to do

The Principal Real Estate Income Fund, known by its ticker symbol PGZ, is an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). This fund focuses on real estate to provide income to its investors.

What the numbers show

As of July 10, 2026, the current price of one share is $10.28. Looking back at the last year, the price of a single share has dropped by about 1.63%. However, when you look at the "total return," which includes the money paid out to investors, the fund grew by 11.22% over the last year.

To understand how price changes affect your money, let's use an example. Imagine you invested $10,000 into this ETF one year ago when the estimated price was $10.45 per share. If you only looked at the share price, your $10,000 would have dropped to about $9,837 because the price went down. This shows why looking at just the price can be tricky.

Income and distribution explanation

This ETF is designed to pay out money regularly. Over the last 12 months, it paid out a total of $1.26 per share. These payments usually happen every month, with 12 payments made in the last year. The "distribution yield" is 12.26%. This number tells you how much income the fund pays relative to its price.

It is important to remember that a high yield alone can be misleading. A very high percentage might look good, but it doesn't tell the whole story about whether the fund is healthy.

NAV erosion explanation

"NAV erosion" happens when an ETF's share price keeps falling because it is paying out more money than it is actually earning. If a fund's price collapses from a high number to a much lower number, it can destroy your "principal." Principal is the original amount of money you put in. If the price drops too far, you might not get your original money back, even if you received monthly payments.

In the case of PGZ, the data shows "No price erosion detected." The erosion score is rated as "good," meaning there is no sign of the price being destroyed by excessive payouts.

Pros

• The fund provides a high distribution yield of 12.26%.

• It pays out money frequently (usually monthly).

• The three-year total return has been very strong at 55.09%.

Cons

• The actual price of the shares has gone down over the last year (-1.63%).

• Investors must watch the price closely to ensure the income is worth the change in share value.

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 checks. When an ETF's price collapses, it can be hard to recover your losses. Always look at the "total return" to see how much you actually made after both price changes and payments are counted.