SCYB vs SJNK

SCYBASchwab High Yield Bond ETF

SJNKAState Street SPDR Bloomberg Short Term High Yield Bond ETF

In short

SCYB Three basis points for the broad US high-yield corporate market. Schwab undercuts a category where the typical fund charges more than ten times as much, spreading the bet across roughly 1,800 bonds and paying monthly.

SJNK Junk bonds with the long end lopped off. SJNK tracks an index of US high yield corporate bonds maturing within five years, keeping the credit risk while shedding much of the rate risk. Trading since 2012, paying monthly.

Stated mandate

SCYB The fund follows a rules-based strategy intended to track the high-yield bond market, primarily through bonds in the Bloomberg Barclays US Corporate High Yield Total Return Index and similar derivatives.

SJNK The fund seeks to track the performance of the Bloomberg US High Yield 350mn Cash Pay 0-5 Yr 2% Capped Index, which measures the performance of short-term, U.S. dollar-denominated high yield corporate bonds.

Why people hold it

• SCYB 0.03% a year against a category median of 0.40%. Even the cheap rivals sit above it: SPHY at 0.05%, USHY at 0.08%.
• Tracks the same Bloomberg US Corporate High Yield index as BKHY, which charges 0.22%. Same map, cheaper toll.
• Roughly 1,800 bonds, so no single issuer's blowup drives the outcome. Rules-based and passive, and it has hugged its index closely.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively and pays monthly, which matters in a corner of the market where getting out cheaply is half the job.

• SJNK The mandate is mechanical: dollar high yield corporates with 0-5 years left, $350m minimum issue size, cash-paying coupons, and a 2% cap on any one issuer.ssga.com
• Tracks its benchmark closely and is one of the more actively traded funds in the high yield group, which matters in a corner of the market where bonds trade by appointment.
• Roughly 1,200 bonds under the hood, with cash paid out monthly rather than quarterly.
• Running since 2012 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund, it is an established name in short-maturity high yield rather than a recent launch chasing the theme.

Worth knowing

• SCYB High yield means below-investment-grade credit. These bonds behave more like stocks than Treasuries when the economy sours, and the extra income is the payment for that risk.
• Launched in 2023, so it has a shorter record than rivals that have traded through more credit cycles.
• The strategy can hold derivatives alongside the bonds themselves to track the index, one layer beyond plain bond ownership.

• SJNK At 0.40% it sits right at the category median, while broad-maturity peers like SCYB (0.03%) and SPHY (0.05%) charge a fraction. The short-maturity tilt is what the extra buys.
• Shorter maturities dial down interest-rate sensitivity, not credit risk. These are below-investment-grade borrowers, and downgrades or defaults show up in the price.
• The index holds only cash-paying bonds, so zero-coupon and deferred-interest issues sit outside the fund's universe.

Full SCYB profile⁠

Full SJNK profile⁠