Preferred Protection: Seeking Refuge With A Preferred Stock ETF

Saying the market is overbought and calling tops have been favorite hobbies of some pundits lately and they've been wrong, at least when it comes to calling tops. That said, a correction at some point would be welcome, if for no other reason than to clear out the weak hands and present buyers with a legitimate dip to be bought. So where does one turn in the ETF universe behind bearish inverse ETFs to get a little shelter from the storm? ETFs tracking preferred stocks are one option and there is a compelling play in this arena worth taking a look at right now: PowerShares Financial Preferred ETF (NYSE: PGF). Preferred ETFs are a good news/bad news story. The bad news a fund like PGF won't rally as much as say the Financial Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLF) if financials really start to move. The good news preferred ETFs like PGF usually don't slide as much as the broader market during downdrafts. PGF features a 6.66% yield and highly rated issues from names such as Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and HSBC (NYSE: HBC). Another reason to have a look at PGF is an attractive that shows a move above $18 would be a potential breakout. From there, the patient investor might be able to grab another $2-$3.