HYG vs NHYB: Differences, Returns & Fees

HYG's duration was 3.0 years on May 31, 2026 and NHYB's 3.2 on Jul 31, 2026; NHYB charges 0.08% to HYG's 0.49%. Net assets: $16.2bn on Oct 20, 2026 for iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF, and $1.7bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Nuveen High Yield Corporate Bond ETF.

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Answers cite the figures on this page.

NHYB costs 0.41 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.8 points; HYG is 10.1 times larger.

HYG vs NHYB: Differences, Returns & Fees
HYGNHYB
Expense ratio0.49%0.08%
Net assets, as of Jul 31, 2026$17.1bn$1.7bn
Total return, 1 year+0.7%+1.5%
What it tracksMarkit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield IndexICE BofA BB-B U.S. Cash Pay High Yield Constrained Index
Holdings in common69%

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

+0.7%
HYG total return, 1 year
+1.5%
NHYB total return, 1 year
0.49%
HYG expense ratio
0.08%
NHYB expense ratio

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Client brief · page 1 of 2Report BR-928C6A1D1D

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

  1. What each follows. HYG follows Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index and NHYB follows ICE BofA BB-B U.S. Cash Pay High Yield Constrained Index.
  2. Cost. HYG charges 0.49% of assets a year and NHYB 0.08%, a gap of 0.41 points.
  3. Size. HYG has $17.1bn in net assets and NHYB $1.7bn (net assets, as of Jul 31, 2026); HYG is 10.1 times larger.

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, HYG and NHYB hold 69% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026.

half

69% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first
Holding HYG NHYB
1261229 BC Ltd, due Apr 15, 2032 0.54% 0.47%
EchoStar Corp, due Nov 30, 2029 0.44% 0.42%
Cloud Software Group Inc, due Sep 30, 2029 0.34% 0.29%
Quikrete Holdings Inc, due Mar 1, 2032 0.33% 0.29%
Venture Global LNG Inc, due Feb 1, 2029 0.28% 0.28%
Cloud Software Group Inc, due Mar 31, 2029 0.33% 0.27%
PR RNO Property Owner 1 LLC, due May 1, 2031 0.26% 0.29%
Meridian Arc Holdco LLC, due Apr 30, 2031 0.26% 0.35%
Asurion LLC/ Asurion Co-Issuer Inc, due Dec 31, 2032 0.28% 0.25%
CRC Insurance Group LLC, due Jun 1, 2031 0.28% 0.24%
WULF Compute LLC, due Oct 15, 2030 0.26% 0.24%
SV RNO Property Owner 1 LLC, due Mar 1, 2031 0.30% 0.23%
Only in HYG
DISH Network Corp, due Nov 15, 2027 0.32%
DISH DBS Corp, due Dec 1, 2028 0.22%
Discovery Global Holdings Inc, due Mar 15, 2032 0.22%
Beach Acquisition Bidco LLC, due Jul 15, 2033 0.20%
AthenaHealth Group Inc, due Feb 15, 2030 0.20%
EchoStar Corp, due Nov 30, 2030 0.19%
Venture Global LNG Inc, due Jun 1, 2028 0.18%
SAKS Global Enterprises LLC DIP First Out Interim Delayed Draw Term Loan, due Jan 14, 2033 0.16%
Only in NHYB
State Street Institutional US Government Money Market Fund 0.62%
Centene Corp, due Jul 15, 2028 0.21%
Discovery Global Holdings Inc, due Mar 15, 2042 0.20%
Centene Corp, due Dec 15, 2029 0.18%
Galaxy Helios Data Centers II LLC, due Aug 1, 2031 0.18%
Discovery Global Holdings Inc, due Mar 15, 2032 0.14%
Centene Corp, due Dec 15, 2027 0.13%
Rakuten Group Inc, due Feb 15, 2027 0.12%

Check overlap with more funds →

On the same fields

HYG
iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF
NHYB
Nuveen High Yield Corporate Bond ETF
Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF
What it is Tracks an index of US high yield bonds Tracks an index
Total return, 1 year +0.7% +1.5%
Its benchmark over the same days −1.6% (IUSB) −1.9% (AGG)
Gap to its benchmark +2.3 pts vs IUSB +3.5 pts vs AGG
Expense ratio 0.49% 0.08%
Holdings 1334 1680
Net assets, HYG as of Oct 20, 2026 and NHYB as of Jul 31, 2026 $16.2bn $1.7bn

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

About HYG

HYG tracks an index of US high yield bonds. Over the year to Oct 20, 2026 it returned +0.7% with distributions reinvested, against −1.6% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% a year.

About NHYB

NHYB tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 20, 2026 it returned +1.5% with distributions reinvested, against −1.9% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, HYG or NHYB?
In the year to Oct 20, 2026, with distributions reinvested, HYG returned +0.7% and NHYB +1.5%.
Which is cheaper, HYG or NHYB?
NHYB is cheaper, by 0.41 percentage points a year. That is about $41 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, HYG against NHYB, data as of Oct 20, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/hyg-vs-nhyb

Open data

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