For its part, SJNK has been a decent performer this year, losing just half a percent in a challenging environment for high-yield corporate debt. SJNK’s option-adjusted duration is just 2.44 years and its yield to maturity is 6.54%.
While SJNK reduces some of the interest rate risk associated with traditional junk bond funds, the ETF does not skimp on yield. As of July 17th, SJNK had a 30-day SEC yield of 5.95%, according to issuer data.
Over 81% of SJNK’s holdings are rated BB or B. However, the ETF also devotes just over 17% of its weight to bonds rated or CCC or worse. Those are highly speculative ratings and those bonds, while they carry higher yields, can add some volatility as well.
For more information on the fixed-income space, visit our bond ETFs category.