HYBB vs USHY

HYBBAiShares BB Rated Corporate Bond ETF

USHYAiShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF

In short

HYBB Most high-yield funds buy the whole junk pile, CCCs included. HYBB takes only the top rung: BB-rated corporate bonds, the tier sitting just below investment grade, for less than the typical high-yield ETF charges.

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

HYBB The fund is designed to follow an index composed of BB-rated corporate bonds denominated in U.S. dollars.

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

Why people hold it

• HYBB Follows the ICE BofA BB US High Yield Constrained Index, so credit quality stays pinned to the BB rung rather than drifting down into deeper junk.ishares.com
• Charges 0.25% a year, under the median for high-yield bond ETFs, and has tracked its index closely since launching in 2020.
• Spreads the money across roughly 1,100 bonds and pays monthly, so no single issuer carries much weight in the portfolio.
• One of the stronger builds in a crowded high-yield field: single-slice mandate, index-faithful, no leverage or derivative wrappers bolted on.

• 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

• HYBB Thinly traded next to the category's giants, which can mean wider bid-ask spreads, particularly when credit markets get rough.
• BB is the top of junk, not investment grade. Default risk and spread swings still come with the territory.
• Broad high-yield rivals cost less: SCYB at 0.03% and SPHY at 0.05% buy the entire junk market, BBs and all, for a fraction of the fee.

• 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 HYBB profile⁠

Full USHY profile⁠