Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
HYG vs PULS: Differences, Returns & Fees
HYG's duration was 2.9 years on Aug 31, 2026 and PULS's 0.7 on May 29, 2026; PULS charges 0.15% 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 $19.8bn for PGIM Ultra Short Bond ETF.
Pair scorecard
PULS costs 0.34 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.7 points; PULS is 1.1 times larger.
| Measure | HYG | PULS |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +1.3% | +4.0% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index | No index, actively managed |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.49% | 0.15% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $17.5bn | $19.8bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 29, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Apr 20, 2018 to Oct 23, 2026 · 444 weekly returnsHYG returned more: +41.4% to +32.2%. PULS swung less: 1.9% to 10.0%. PULS fell less at its worst: −5.9% to −20.7%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | HYG | PULS | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +41.4% | +32.2% | HYG | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +4.1% | +3.3% | HYG | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −10.3% | −0.9% | PULS | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 10.0% | 1.9% | PULS | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 6.8% | 1.6% | PULS | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −20.7% | −5.9% | PULS | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.18 | 0.27 | PULS | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.26 | 0.32 | PULS | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.20 | 0.57 | PULS | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 444 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, HYG and PULS hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 29, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
HYG and PULS on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
HYG and PULS do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. HYG follows Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index and PULS follows No index, actively managed.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Aug 31, 2026 and May 29, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 HYG returned +1.3% and PULS +4.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.7 points.
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.
PULS
PULS is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +4.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, HYG or PULS?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, HYG returned +1.3% and PULS +4.0%.
- Which is cheaper, HYG or PULS?
- PULS is cheaper, by 0.34 percentage points a year. That is about $34 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 PULS, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/hyg-vs-puls
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). HYG against PULS. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/hyg-vs-puls
[HYG against PULS (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/hyg-vs-puls)
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