SHYG vs SPHY: Differences, Returns & Fees
SHYG's duration was 2.1 years on Jul 31, 2026 and SPHY's 3.2 on Jun 30, 2026; SPHY charges 0.05% to SHYG's 0.30%. Net assets on Oct 20, 2026: $7.6bn for iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF and $11.7bn for State Street SPDR Portfolio High Yield Bond ETF.
SPHY costs 0.25 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.0 point; SPHY is 1.5 times larger.
| SHYG | SPHY | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.30% | 0.05% |
| Net assets | $7.6bn | $11.7bn |
| Total return, 1 year | +2.1% | +1.1% |
| What it tracks | Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield 0-5 Index | ICE BofA US High Yield Index |
| Holdings in common | 56% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026.
SHYG and SPHY are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. SHYG follows Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield 0-5 Index and SPHY follows ICE BofA US High Yield Index.
- Cost. SHYG charges 0.30% of assets a year and SPHY 0.05%, a gap of 0.25 points.
- Holdings in common (similar). 56% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026).
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, SHYG and SPHY hold 56% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026.
half
56% in common
On the same fields
SHYG and SPHY on the fields both publish, as of Oct 20, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
About SHYG
SHYG tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 20, 2026 it returned +2.1% with distributions reinvested, against −1.6% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.30% 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, SHYG or SPHY?
- In the year to Oct 20, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SHYG returned +2.1% and SPHY +1.1%.
- Which is cheaper, SHYG or SPHY?
- SPHY is cheaper, by 0.25 percentage points a year. That is about $25 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, SHYG against SPHY, data as of Oct 20, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/shyg-vs-sphy
ETFIQ. (Oct 20, 2026). SHYG against SPHY. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/shyg-vs-sphy
[SHYG against SPHY (ETFIQ, Oct 20, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/shyg-vs-sphy)
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