Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
HYG vs JNK: Differences, Returns & Fees
HYG's duration was 2.9 years on Aug 31, 2026 and JNK's 3.4 on Jun 30, 2026; JNK charges 0.40% 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 $5.9bn for State Street SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF.
Pair scorecard
JNK costs 0.09 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.4 points; HYG is 3.0 times larger.
| Measure | HYG | JNK |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +1.3% | +1.7% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index | Bloomberg High Yield Very Liquid Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.49% | 0.40% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $17.5bn | $5.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 63% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Dec 14, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026 · 984 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: HYG against IUSB, Jun 20, 2014 to Oct 23, 2026; JNK against AGG, Dec 14, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026.
HYG and JNK returned about the same: +143.3% and +141.3%. HYG swung less: 11.1% to 12.7%. HYG fell less at its worst: −32.9% to −38.4%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | HYG | JNK | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +143.3% | +141.3% | Tie | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +4.8% | +4.8% | Tie | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −24.5% | −35.6% | HYG | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 11.1% | 12.7% | HYG | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 8.1% | 9.4% | HYG | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −32.9% | −38.4% | HYG | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 62.1% | 54.4% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 48.4% | 35.8% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.00 | 1.16 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.31 | 0.24 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.35 | 0.32 | HYG (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.48 | 0.43 | HYG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.019 | 0.035 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.15 | 0.12 | HYG | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | IUSB | AGG | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +1.9% a year | +2.4% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.87 | 0.94 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −2.4% to +6.1% | −2.6% to +7.4% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.25 | 0.24 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 7.6% | 11.1% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 984 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, HYG and JNK hold 63% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.
half
63% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
HYG and JNK on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
HYG and JNK are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. HYG follows Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index and JNK follows Bloomberg High Yield Very Liquid Index.
- Size. HYG has $17.5bn in net assets and JNK $5.9bn (net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026); HYG is 3.0 times larger.
- Holdings in common (similar). 63% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Aug 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026).
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
JNK
JNK tracks the Bloomberg High Yield Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.7% with distributions reinvested, against −1.4% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.40% a year.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, HYG or JNK?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, HYG returned +1.3% and JNK +1.7%.
- Which is cheaper, HYG or JNK?
- JNK is cheaper, by 0.09 percentage points a year. That is about $9 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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.
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ETFIQ, HYG against JNK, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/hyg-vs-jnk
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). HYG against JNK. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/hyg-vs-jnk
[HYG against JNK (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/hyg-vs-jnk)
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