Category Review
Municipal bond funds are down for the year after a third-quarter selloff erased the first-half gain
iShares Yield Optimized Bond ETF
$21.59+0.01 (+0.02%)
- 0.41%
- $416M
- −0.1%
- 5.52%
- 0.1M sh
- $21.57
- low $21.39high $23.14
The ETF.net BYLD Grade
B
Score 63 out of 100
- 54 of 117
Score 63 of 100 falls in the B band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.D31 out of 100Rank 81 of 117Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A94 out of 100Rank 68 of 101Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.B63 out of 100Rank 26 of 116Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.B57 out of 100Rank 42 of 117Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.A95 out of 100Rank 2 of 116Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A71 out of 100Rank 33 of 117
Our read on BYLD
BMost core bond funds buy the whole market and take whatever yield falls out. BYLD tracks an index built from other iShares bond funds, tilted toward the higher-income corners of US fixed income, and pays monthly.
The fund seeks to track the Morningstar U.S. Bond Market Yield-Optimized Index, which targets high-yielding U.S. fixed-income securities and provides diversified bond exposure.
Why people hold it
- One ticker, many sleeves. The index is assembled from underlying fixed income funds picked to deliver current income, so the blending happens inside the wrapper.blackrock.com
- Income lands monthly, not quarterly, which lines up with how most household bills arrive.
- The portfolio is spread widely across the bond market and hews closely to its stated index, so what you buy matches what the label says.
- Trading since 2014 under the iShares roof, it sits in the upper half of a crowded aggregate-bond peer group on our review.
Worth knowing
- The 0.41% fee is above the typical fund in this category and well above the 0.03% charged by core index staples like BND, SPAB and SCHZ.
- Targeting higher-yielding bonds means leaning on credit, so it carries different risks than a plain market-weighted aggregate index fund.
- Volume is moderate rather than enormous. Limit orders and a look at the spread are worth the extra second.
BYLD Holdings
- Bonds
- 10,019
- 8%
- BlackRock Cash Class Inst Sl Agency
Sectors
- Energy99.2%
- Real Estate0.8%
Geography
- United States91.25%
- China1.44%
- India0.88%
- Mexico0.54%
- Malaysia0.49%
- Indonesia0.47%
- Brazil0.45%
- Poland0.44%
- 4.04%
BYLD Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
BYLD$9,992
Returns run to the Oct 12, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | BYLD |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −1.4% |
| 1 month | −1.3% |
| 3 months | −2.6% |
| 1 year | −0.1% |
| 3 years | +6.1% |
| 5 years | +1.7% |
| 10 years | +2.5% |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | BYLD |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −1.4% | |
| 2025 | +8.4% | |
| 2024 | +4.2% | |
| 2023 | +8.3% | |
| 2022 | −10.3% | |
| 2021 | −1.3% | |
| 2020 | +3.9% |
BYLD in the news
BYLD Dividends
- 5.52%
- $1.19
- $0.09 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
BYLD Risk
- 4.9%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- 0.24
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −14.1%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 0.78
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
BYLD Cost
0.41%
BYLD0.41%
- The middle half of US Aggregate Bond funds
- Median 0.34%
77 of the 113 US Aggregate Bond funds charge less.
Other funds in US Aggregate Bond
- BJCPBJPMorgan Core Plus Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.40%1 year return −1.2%
- BJSCPJPMorgan Short Duration Core Plus ETFExpense ratio 0.33%1 year return +1.2%
- BCORBAB Active ETFs, Inc. - AB Core Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.28%1 year return —
- BBLSTBluemonte Short Term Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.28%1 year return 0.0%
- BTOTRT. Rowe Price Total Return ETFExpense ratio 0.31%1 year return −1.8%