“From its launch, investors saw it as a way to gain diversified access to the high yield market through the exchange,” he wrote at the iShares blog.
Including the 0.50% expense ratio, the fund has tracked its index within 0.01% since inception.
“But the big moment for HYG actually came during the financial crisis of 2008. During this period over-the-counter trading was impaired, and many investors began to turn to HYG as a way of accessing the high yield market,” Tucker said. “Despite periods of illiquidity in the OTC market, the ETF structure allows investors to trade high yield throughout the day on the exchange.”
There are 13 high-yield ETFs with a collective $28 billion in assets under management.
iShares iBoxx High Yield Fund