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HYLS vs SPHY: Differences, Returns & Fees

HYLS's duration was 2.9 years on Jul 31, 2026 and SPHY's 3.2 on Jun 30, 2026; SPHY charges 0.05% to HYLS's 0.69%. Net assets on Oct 20, 2026: $1.6bn for First Trust Tactical High Yield ETF and $11.7bn for State Street SPDR Portfolio High Yield Bond ETF.

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Answers cite the figures on this page.

SPHY costs 0.64 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.9 points; SPHY is 7.3 times larger.

HYLS vs SPHY: Differences, Returns & Fees
HYLSSPHY
Expense ratio0.69%0.05%
Net assets$1.6bn$11.7bn
Total return, 1 year+0.2%+1.1%
What it tracksNo index, actively managedICE BofA US High Yield Index
Holdings in commonnot published
+0.2%
HYLS total return, 1 year
+1.1%
SPHY total return, 1 year
0.69%
HYLS expense ratio
0.05%
SPHY expense ratio

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Client brief · page 1 of 2Report BR-A4A70706E5

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

  1. What each follows. HYLS follows No index, actively managed and SPHY follows ICE BofA US High Yield Index.
  2. Number of holdings. HYLS holds 332 positions and SPHY holds 1930.
  3. Cost. HYLS charges 0.69% of assets a year and SPHY 0.05%, a gap of 0.64 points.

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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On the same fields

HYLS
First Trust Tactical High Yield ETF
SPHY
State Street SPDR Portfolio High Yield Bond ETF
Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF
Issuer First Trust State Street
What it is Actively managed Tracks an index
Total return, 1 year +0.2% +1.1%
Its benchmark over the same days +1.2% (USHY) +1.0% (BBHY)
Gap to its benchmark −1.0 pts vs USHY +0.1 pts vs BBHY
Expense ratio 0.69% 0.05%
Holdings 332 1930
Net assets $1.6bn $11.7bn

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

About HYLS

HYLS is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 20, 2026 it returned +0.2% with distributions reinvested, against +1.2% for its benchmark, the ICE BofA US High Yield Constrained Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.69% a year.

About SPHY

SPHY tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 20, 2026 it returned +1.1% with distributions reinvested, against +1.0% for its benchmark, the ICE BofA US High Yield Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.05% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, HYLS or SPHY?
In the year to Oct 20, 2026, with distributions reinvested, HYLS returned +0.2% and SPHY +1.1%.
Which is cheaper, HYLS or SPHY?
SPHY is cheaper, by 0.64 percentage points a year. That is about $64 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
HYG vs HYLSHYLS vs SHYGHYLS vs USHYHYLS vs SJNKFALN vs SPHYNHYB vs SPHYJBBB vs SPHYJPHY vs SPHY
HYLS on its own →SPHY on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →HYLS dividend history →HYLS holdings →SPHY dividend history →SPHY holdings →Standards and sources →
Where these figures came from
HYLS filings on SEC EDGAR ↗HYLS prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗First Trust page for HYLS ↗SPHY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗SPHY prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗State Street website ↗

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.

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ETFIQ, HYLS against SPHY, data as of Oct 20, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/hyls-vs-sphy

Open data

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