BHYB vs USHY

BHYBAXtrackers USD High Yield BB-B ex Financials ETF

USHYAiShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF

In short

BHYB High yield with two filters bolted on: no CCC-rated bonds, no financial issuers. You get the BB and B middle of the junk market, at 0.20% a year, half the typical cost in its category.

USHY The wide-angle lens on junk bonds: about 1,900 US dollar high yield corporate issues for 0.08% a year, a fifth of what the typical fund in its category charges. Broad, cheap, heavily traded, and it pays monthly.

Stated mandate

BHYB The fund uses a passive representative-sampling strategy to track its Underlying Index, investing primarily in U.S.-dollar-denominated below-investment-grade corporate bonds that meet the index's BB-to-B credit-rating range and exclude financial issuers.

USHY The fund seeks to track an index of U.S. dollar-denominated high yield corporate bonds.

Why people hold it

• BHYB Costs 0.20% a year against a 0.40% median for high yield bond ETFs. Cheap for a screened portfolio rather than a plain index scoop.
• The rulebook does the credit work: US dollar bonds in the BB-to-B band only, financial issuers excluded. The lowest-rated CCC tier never enters.
• Roughly 1,500 bonds held via representative sampling, with cash paid out monthly.
• Sits among the strongest builds in a crowded high yield field, backed by a multi-billion-dollar asset base.

• USHY Charges 0.08% a year while the median high yield fund in its cohort runs 0.40%. Cheap rent on an expensive-to-run corner of the bond market.
• Holds about 1,900 bonds against the ICE BofA US High Yield Constrained Index: the broad market, not a curated slice of the most liquid names.ishares.com
• A multi-billion-dollar fund and one of the more actively traded in high yield, which tends to keep bid-ask spreads thin even on busy days.
• Pays monthly and has tracked its index tightly since its 2017 launch, one of the closer index matches in its peer group.

Worth knowing

• BHYB Broad high yield costs less: SCYB at 0.03%, SPHY and Xtrackers' own HYLB at 0.05%, USHY at 0.08%. The screens carry a price.
• Skipping banks, insurers and CCC credits means the ride can diverge from broad high yield benchmarks in both directions.
• Launched in 2023, so the track record is short, and it trades at moderate volume rather than as a category workhorse.

• USHY High yield means below-investment-grade borrowers. When credit gets stressed this asset class drops with stocks instead of cushioning them.
• Cheaper tickets sit on the same shelf: SCYB at 0.03% and SPHY at 0.05%.
• This is a fund, not a bond ladder. No maturity date hands your principal back; the basket rolls on indefinitely.

Full BHYB profile⁠

Full USHY profile⁠