ETF Spotlight: SPDR Barclays Capital High Yield Bond (JNK)

ETF Spotlight on SPDR Barclays Capital High Yield Bond (NYSEArca: JNK), part of a weekly series. Assets: $3 billion

Objective: Tracks the Barclays Capital High-Yield Very Liquid Index

Holdings: JNK holds 157 high-yield securities with an average credit rating of B2; companies include Harrah’s, GMAC, Inc. and Citigroup Capital. [Why high-yield is in favor.]

What You Should Know

• JNK currently yields 12.6%
• The expense ratio is 0.40%
• The top sectors are industrial (75.1%), finance (11.6%) and utilities (11.3%)

The Latest News

• Analysts note a shift in investor sentiment toward corporate bonds: they tend to feel the asset class will outperform other areas of fixed income, reports Romy Varghese for The Wall Street Journal.
• High-yield issuance hit $147.7 billion this year; the previous high was in 2006, at $143.5 billion and it triples the $47.7 billion issued in all of 2008. [Corporate bond ETFs benefit as sales break records.]
• Even December, which is typically a slow month for junk bond issuance, has already exceeded the monthly average for 2009.

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