JNK vs PHYL: Differences, Returns & Fees
JNK's duration was 3.4 years on Jun 30, 2026 and PHYL's 3.0 on May 29, 2026; PHYL charges 0.39% to JNK's 0.40%. Net assets: $5.5bn on Oct 20, 2026 for State Street SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF, and $1.5bn on Oct 19, 2026 for PGIM Active High Yield Bond ETF.
PHYL costs 0.01 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.3 points; JNK is 3.8 times larger.
| JNK | PHYL | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.40% | 0.39% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 19, 2026 | $5.6bn | $1.5bn |
| Total return, 1 year | +1.1% | +0.8% |
| What it tracks | Bloomberg High Yield Very Liquid Index | No index, actively managed |
| Holdings in common | 33% | |
| Below its high | 3.0%, high on Aug 25, 2026 | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 29, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026.
JNK and PHYL are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. JNK follows Bloomberg High Yield Very Liquid Index and PHYL follows No index, actively managed.
- Holdings in common. 33% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and May 29, 2026).
- Size. JNK has $5.6bn in net assets and PHYL $1.5bn (net assets, as of Oct 19, 2026); JNK is 3.7 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, JNK and PHYL hold 33% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 29, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026.
half
33% in common
On the same fields
JNK and PHYL on the fields both publish, as of Oct 20, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
About JNK
JNK tracks the Bloomberg High Yield Bond. Over the year to Oct 20, 2026 it returned +1.1% with distributions reinvested, against −1.9% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.40% a year. It sat 3.0% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Oct 20, 2026.
About PHYL
PHYL is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 20, 2026 it returned +0.8% with distributions reinvested, against −1.9% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.39% a year.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, JNK or PHYL?
- In the year to Oct 20, 2026, with distributions reinvested, JNK returned +1.1% and PHYL +0.8%.
- Which is cheaper, JNK or PHYL?
- PHYL is cheaper, by 0.01 percentage points a year. That is about $1 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. 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, JNK against PHYL, data as of Oct 20, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/jnk-vs-phyl
ETFIQ. (Oct 20, 2026). JNK against PHYL. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/jnk-vs-phyl
[JNK against PHYL (ETFIQ, Oct 20, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/jnk-vs-phyl)
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