Some income investors are finding value in high-yield corporate bond ETFs after the funds sold off on Federal Reserve tapering fears.
The largest junk bond ETFs, iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond (NYSEArca: HYG) and SPDR Barclays High Yield Bond (NYSEArca: JNK), have added $588 million and $279.6 million in assets, respectively, over the past week, according to IndexUniverse data.
“Junk bonds are back on the mend following their recent brush with de-leveraging and interest-rate risk, with the average yield across the high-yield market dipping below 6% again,” reports Michael Aneiro at Barron’s.
“[We] saw a lot of buying activity in the high yield space today,” said WallachBeth Capital in a note on ETF trading activity Thursday.
However, the two funds together have seen about $3 billion move out the door so far this year.
Heavy redemptions in junk bonds materialized after the Fed hinted at an end to bond purchases and interest rates began to rise, reports Vivianne Rodrigues for Financial Times.
Fed chief Bernanke quelled some market fears, stating that that the Fed will maintain accommodate measures for the foreseeable future. [Investors Buying High-Yield ETFs with Shorter Durations for Rate Protection]