Which returned more over the last year, HYG or IUSB?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, HYG returned +1.3% and IUSB −1.2%.

Which is cheaper, HYG or IUSB?

IUSB is cheaper, by 0.43 percentage points a year. That is about $43 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

HYG vs IUSB: Differences, Returns & Fees

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HYG's duration was 2.9 years on Aug 31, 2026 and IUSB's 5.5 on Jul 31, 2026; IUSB charges 0.06% to HYG's 0.49%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $17.5bn for iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF and $49.8bn for iShares Core Universal USD Bond ETF.

HYG on its own →IUSB on its own →

At a glance

+1.3%

HYG total return, 1 year

−1.2%

IUSB total return, 1 year

0.49%

HYG expense ratio

0.06%

IUSB expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IUSB costs 0.43 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.5 points; IUSB is 2.8 times larger.

HYG vs IUSB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	HYG	IUSB
Return
Measure	HYG	IUSB
Total return, 1 year	+1.3%	−1.2%
Benchmark
Measure	HYG	IUSB
What it tracks	Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index	Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index
Cost and size
Measure	HYG	IUSB
Expense ratio	0.49%	0.06%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$17.5bn	$49.8bn
Holdings
Measure	HYG	IUSB
Holdings in common	3%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Jun 20, 2014 to Oct 23, 2026 · 644 weekly returns

HYG IUSB

Return

Total return edge HYG +56.0% +28.3%

Annualized edge HYG +3.7% +2.0%

Price return edge IUSB −19.2% −10.7%

Risk

Volatility edge IUSB 9.1% 5.0%

Max drawdown edge IUSB −20.7% −17.7%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge HYG 0.21 0.02

Sortino edge HYG 0.31 0.02

Calmar edge HYG 0.18 0.11

Reading

HYG returned more: +56.0% to +28.3%. IUSB swung less: 5.0% to 9.1%. IUSB fell less at its worst: −17.7% to −20.7%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: HYG vs IUSB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	HYG	IUSB	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+56.0%	+28.3%	HYG	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+3.7%	+2.0%	HYG	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−19.2%	−10.7%	IUSB	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	9.1%	5.0%	IUSB	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	6.3%	3.6%	IUSB	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−20.7%	−17.7%	IUSB	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.21	0.02	HYG	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.31	0.02	HYG	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.18	0.11	HYG	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 644 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, HYG and IUSB hold 3% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

3% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first HYG IUSB

1261229 BC Ltd, due Apr 15, 2032 0.50% 0.02%

PR RNO Property Owner 1 LLC, due May 1, 2031 0.34% 0.02%

Meridian Arc Holdco LLC, due Apr 30, 2031 0.45% 0.02%

EchoStar Corp, due Nov 30, 2029 0.43% 0.01%

Cloud Software Group LLC, due Mar 31, 2029 0.32% 0.01%

Quikrete Holdings Inc, due Mar 1, 2032 0.32% 0.01%

Cloud Software Group LLC, due Sep 30, 2029 0.32% 0.01%

SV RNO Property Owner 1 LLC, due Mar 1, 2031 0.28% 0.01%

Nexstar Media Inc, due Sep 15, 2033 0.28% 0.01%

Centene Corp, due Dec 15, 2029 0.26% 0.01%

Venture Global LNG Inc, due Feb 1, 2029 0.26% 0.01%

HUB International Ltd, due Jun 15, 2030 0.29% 0.01%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in HYG

MPT Operating Partnership LP / MPT Finance Corp, due Feb 15, 2032 0.23%

Talen Energy Supply LLC, due May 1, 2033 0.21%

Electricite de France SA, due Mar 15, 2033 0.14%

Talen Energy Supply LLC, due May 1, 2031 0.13%

Zenith Arc LLC, due Aug 31, 2031 0.11%

ARC Falcon I Inc / Arclin USA LLC / New Arclin US Holding Corp, due Mar 1, 2033 0.09%

CITGO Petroleum Corp, due Jan 15, 2029 0.09%

Muvico LLC, due Feb 19, 2029 0.07%

Only in IUSB

Uniform Mortgage-Backed Securities, due Aug 25, 2056 0.41%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Dec 31, 2029 0.37%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2036 0.37%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2034 0.36%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2035 0.35%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 15, 2035 0.34%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2034 0.34%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2034 0.34%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

HYG iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF IUSB iShares Core Universal USD Bond ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks an index of US high yield bonds Tracks an index of Universal USD Bond

Total return, 1 year +1.3% −1.2%

Its benchmark over the same days −1.2% (IUSB) not measured

Gap to its benchmark +2.5 pts vs IUSB not measured

Expense ratio 0.49% 0.06%

Holdings 1332 18338

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $17.5bn $49.8bn

HYG and IUSB on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-330FF47F9E

HYG and IUSB do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. HYG follows Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index and IUSB follows Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index.
Holdings in common. 3% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Aug 31, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 HYG returned +1.3% and IUSB −1.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.5 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

HYG

HYG tracks an index of US high yield bonds. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.3% with distributions reinvested, against −1.2% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% a year.

IUSB

IUSB tracks an index of Universal USD Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.2% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.06% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, HYG or IUSB?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, HYG returned +1.3% and IUSB −1.2%.
Which is cheaper, HYG or IUSB?: IUSB is cheaper, by 0.43 percentage points a year. That is about $43 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BOND vs HYG HYG vs TLT HYG vs MBB HYG vs JAAA IUSB vs USHY IUSB vs JNK IGIB vs IUSB IUSB vs VTIP

Where to next

HYG on its own →IUSB on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →HYG dividend history →HYG holdings →IUSB dividend history →IUSB holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

HYG and IUSB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

HYG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for HYG ↗

IUSB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IUSB ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, HYG against IUSB, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/hyg-vs-iusb

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