HYDB vs PHYL: Differences, Returns & Fees

HYDB's duration was 3.2 years on May 31, 2026 and PHYL's 3.0 on May 29, 2026; HYDB charges 0.35% to PHYL's 0.39%. Net assets: $1.5bn on Oct 20, 2026 for iShares High Yield Systematic Bond ETF, and $1.5bn on Oct 19, 2026 for PGIM Active High Yield Bond ETF.

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Answers cite the figures on this page.

HYDB costs 0.04 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.5 points.

HYDB vs PHYL: Differences, Returns & Fees
HYDBPHYL
Expense ratio0.35%0.39%
Net assets, as of Oct 19, 2026$1.5bn$1.5bn
Total return, 1 year+0.3%+0.8%
What it tracksBlackRock High Yield Systematic Bond IndexNo index, actively managed
Holdings in common11%
Below its high3.6%, high on Aug 25, 2026

Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 29, 2026 and May 31, 2026.

+0.3%
HYDB total return, 1 year
+0.8%
PHYL total return, 1 year
0.35%
HYDB expense ratio
0.39%
PHYL expense ratio

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Client brief · page 1 of 2Report BR-9F9DA7F1C6

HYDB and PHYL are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?

  1. What each follows. HYDB follows BlackRock High Yield Systematic Bond Index and PHYL follows No index, actively managed.
  2. Holdings in common. 11% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated May 31, 2026 and May 29, 2026).
  3. Number of holdings. HYDB holds 257 positions and PHYL holds 783.

Data as of Oct 20, 2026. The differences are picked by a fixed rule, in a fixed order; the PDF prints it. Page 2 has the returns, overlap, risks and sources.

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What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, HYDB and PHYL hold 11% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 29, 2026 and May 31, 2026.

half

11% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first
Holding HYDB PHYL
DaVita Inc, due Jun 1, 2030 0.67% 0.61%
CoreWeave Inc, due Jun 1, 2030 0.72% 0.45%
Windstream Services LLC / Windstream Escrow Finance Corp, due Oct 1, 2031 0.72% 0.41%
Rocket Mortgage LLC / Rocket Mortgage Co-Issuer Inc, due Mar 1, 2031 0.74% 0.41%
WULF Compute LLC, due Oct 15, 2030 0.73% 0.40%
EchoStar Corp, due Nov 30, 2029 0.28% 0.41%
Brookfield Residential Properties Inc / Brookfield Residential US LLC, due Feb 15, 2030 0.37% 0.28%
Gap Inc/The, due Oct 1, 2031 0.30% 0.27%
SK Invictus Intermediate II Sarl, due Oct 30, 2029 0.48% 0.26%
DaVita Inc, due Feb 15, 2031 0.38% 0.26%
Noble Finance II LLC, due Apr 15, 2030 0.69% 0.24%
Level 3 Financing Inc, due Jan 15, 2036 0.24% 0.45%
Only in HYDB
Paramount Global, due Apr 30, 2036 0.77%
Cooper-Standard Automotive Inc, due Mar 1, 2031 0.76%
Coinbase Global Inc, due Oct 1, 2028 0.75%
Fair Isaac Corp, due Sep 15, 2034 0.75%
Venture Global LNG Inc, due Jun 1, 2031 0.75%
Caesars Entertainment Inc, due Oct 15, 2032 0.73%
Discovery Global Holdings Inc, due Mar 15, 2032 0.73%
Tronox Inc, due Mar 15, 2029 0.73%
Only in PHYL
PGIM AAA CLO ETF 1.08%
TDG 6.75 08/15/28 144A, due Aug 15, 2028 0.97%
RADIATE HOLDCO LLC, due Sep 25, 2029 0.90%
CVNA 9 06/01/30 144A, due Jun 1, 2030 0.74%
UNSEAM 7.875 02/15/31 144A, due Feb 15, 2031 0.58%
MERIDI 6.25 04/30/31 144A, due Apr 30, 2031 0.57%
TENINC 8 11/17/28 144A, due Nov 17, 2028 0.56%
HRI 6.625 06/15/29 144A, due Jun 15, 2029 0.54%

Check overlap with more funds →

On the same fields

HYDB
iShares High Yield Systematic Bond ETF
PHYL
PGIM Active High Yield Bond ETF
Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF
Issuer iShares PGIM
What it is Tracks an index Actively managed
Total return, 1 year +0.3% +0.8%
Its benchmark over the same days −1.6% (IUSB) −1.9% (AGG)
Gap to its benchmark +1.9 pts vs IUSB +2.7 pts vs AGG
Expense ratio 0.35% 0.39%
Holdings 257 783
Net assets, HYDB as of Oct 20, 2026 and PHYL as of Oct 19, 2026 $1.5bn $1.5bn

HYDB and PHYL on the fields both publish, as of Oct 20, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

About HYDB

HYDB tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 20, 2026 it returned +0.3% with distributions reinvested, against −1.6% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.35% a year. It sat 3.6% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Oct 20, 2026.

About PHYL

PHYL is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 20, 2026 it returned +0.8% with distributions reinvested, against −1.9% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.39% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, HYDB or PHYL?
In the year to Oct 20, 2026, with distributions reinvested, HYDB returned +0.3% and PHYL +0.8%.
Which is cheaper, HYDB or PHYL?
HYDB is cheaper, by 0.04 percentage points a year. That is about $4 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, HYDB against PHYL, data as of Oct 20, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/hydb-vs-phyl

Open data

Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.