The rally in s0-called “junk bonds” and junk bond exchange traded funds (ETFs) has been one of the market’s strongest since mid-July.

Those businesses representing the biggest risk are the ones that are really basking in the glow of July’s rally in the S&P 500.

The winning stocks have been the companies with a rating of BB or lower, also known as “high-yield junk,” explain Jennifer Alban and Rodrigo Campos for Reuters. Shares prices for junk companies are up between 21%-29% as of Aug. 4. By comparison, investment-grade companies with a BBB rating and higher are up 9.5%-19.25% for the same period.

Part of the reason for this rally is that the most beaten-down areas and sectors tend to have the furthest to go in a recovery. Companies with high credit ratings have a tendency to weather challenged markets better, so when a rally takes place, they usually don’t skyrocket.

Some analysts believe that the recent junk rally can’t sustain itself unless higher quality companies join in on the growth sooner rather than later. The higher-rated companies have less growth potential, though, so their earnings prospects may need more time to kick in.

Have a strategy and a stop-loss in place to protect yourself when the trend shows signs of ending.

In the meantime, here are some ways you can get this exposure with ETFs:

• iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond (HYG): up 10.2% year-to-date

• iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond (LQD): up 0.7% year-to-date

• SPDR Barclays Capital High Yield Bond (JNK): up 24.7% year-to-date

For full disclosure, Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of LQD.

For more stories about bonds, visit our bond category.

Tags: Bond ETFs, Corporate Bonds, HYG, JNK, LQD