HYG vs. SJNK

Last updated Apr 2, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) and SPDR Bloomberg Barclays Short Term High Yield Bond ETF (SJNK).

HYG and SJNK are both exchange-traded funds (ETFs), meaning they are traded on stock exchanges and can be bought and sold throughout the day. HYG is a passively managed fund by iShares that tracks the performance of the iBoxx $ Liquid High Yield Index. It was launched on Apr 11, 2007. SJNK is a passively managed fund by State Street that tracks the performance of the Bloomberg US High Yield 350mn Cash Pay 2% Capped (0-5 Y). It was launched on Mar 15, 2012. Both HYG and SJNK are passive ETFs, meaning that they are not actively managed but aim to replicate the performance of the underlying index as closely as possible.

Performance

HYG vs. SJNK - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) and SPDR Bloomberg Barclays Short Term High Yield Bond ETF (SJNK). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

HYG vs. SJNK - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
HYG iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF	-0.11%	8.59%	7.97%	11.54%	-10.98%	3.76%	4.47%	14.09%	-2.02%	6.07%
SJNK SPDR Bloomberg Barclays Short Term High Yield Bond ETF	-0.02%	7.68%	8.24%	11.63%	-5.50%	5.06%	5.82%	9.49%	-0.27%	5.27%

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, HYG achieves a -0.11% return, which is significantly lower than SJNK's -0.02% return. Over the past 10 years, HYG has underperformed SJNK with an annualized return of 5.16%, while SJNK has yielded a comparatively higher 5.84% annualized return.

HYG

• 1D: 0.24%
• 1M: -0.65%
• YTD: -0.11%
• 6M: 0.93%
• 1Y: 6.91%
• 3Y*: 7.99%
• 5Y*: 3.66%
• 10Y*: 5.16%

SJNK

• 1D: 0.21%
• 1M: -0.31%
• YTD: -0.02%
• 6M: 0.97%
• 1Y: 6.59%
• 3Y*: 7.86%
• 5Y*: 4.76%
• 10Y*: 5.84%

*Multi-year figures are annualized to reflect compound growth (CAGR)

HYG vs. SJNK - Expense Ratio Comparison

HYG has a 0.49% expense ratio, which is higher than SJNK's 0.40% expense ratio.

HYG

iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF

SJNK

SPDR Bloomberg Barclays Short Term High Yield Bond ETF

Return for Risk

HYG vs. SJNK — Risk / Return Rank

Compare risk-adjusted metric ranks to identify better-performing investments over the past 12 months.

HYG

HYG Risk / Return Rank: 73
HYG Sharpe Ratio Rank: 69
HYG Sortino Ratio Rank: 72
HYG Omega Ratio Rank: 75
HYG Calmar Ratio Rank: 69
HYG Martin Ratio Rank: 82

SJNK

SJNK Risk / Return Rank: 74
SJNK Sharpe Ratio Rank: 70
SJNK Sortino Ratio Rank: 72
SJNK Omega Ratio Rank: 80
SJNK Calmar Ratio Rank: 67
SJNK Martin Ratio Rank: 84

The rank (0–100) shows how this investment's returns compare to the risk taken. Higher = better. Based on the past 12 months of data, combining Sharpe, Sortino, and other metrics used by quantitative funds and institutional investors.

HYG vs. SJNK - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) and SPDR Bloomberg Barclays Short Term High Yield Bond ETF (SJNK). Risk-adjusted metrics are performance indicators that assess an investment's returns in relation to its risk, enabling a more accurate comparison of different investment options.

	HYG	SJNK	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	1.25	1.27	-0.02
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	1.87	1.88	-0.01
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	1.29	1.31	-0.03
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	1.82	1.77	+0.05
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	9.57	10.05	-0.49
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

HYG vs. SJNK - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current HYG Sharpe Ratio is 1.25, which is comparable to the SJNK Sharpe Ratio of 1.27. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of HYG and SJNK, offering insights into how both investments have performed under varying market conditions. These values are calculated using daily returns over the previous 12 months.

Sharpe Ratios by Period

	HYG	SJNK	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	1.25	1.27	-0.02
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	0.49	0.82	-0.33
Sharpe Ratio (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period	0.62	0.90	-0.28
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	0.45	0.78	-0.33

Correlation

The correlation between HYG and SJNK is 0.90, which is considered to be high. That indicates a strong positive relationship between their price movements. Having highly-correlated positions in a portfolio may signal a lack of diversification, potentially leading to increased risk during market downturns.

Dividends

HYG vs. SJNK - Dividend Comparison

HYG's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 5.88%, less than SJNK's 7.13% yield.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
HYG iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF	5.88%	5.71%	6.01%	5.74%	5.30%	4.02%	4.88%	4.99%	5.54%	5.12%	5.27%	5.90%
SJNK SPDR Bloomberg Barclays Short Term High Yield Bond ETF	7.13%	7.12%	7.47%	7.20%	5.85%	4.21%	5.34%	5.64%	5.69%	5.64%	5.65%	5.81%

Drawdowns

HYG vs. SJNK - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum HYG drawdown since its inception was -34.25%, which is greater than SJNK's maximum drawdown of -19.74%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for HYG and SJNK.

Drawdown Indicators

	HYG	SJNK	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-34.25%	-19.74%	-14.51%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-3.93%	-3.83%	-0.10%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	-15.79%	-10.18%	-5.61%
Max Drawdown (10Y) Largest decline over 10 years	-22.03%	-19.74%	-2.29%
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-1.05%	-0.61%	-0.44%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-3.27%	-1.65%	-1.62%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	0.75%	0.67%	+0.08%

Volatility

HYG vs. SJNK - Volatility Comparison

iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) has a higher volatility of 2.30% compared to SPDR Bloomberg Barclays Short Term High Yield Bond ETF (SJNK) at 1.83%. This indicates that HYG's price experiences larger fluctuations and is considered to be riskier than SJNK based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	HYG	SJNK	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	2.30%	1.83%	+0.47%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	2.93%	2.46%	+0.47%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	5.57%	5.22%	+0.35%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	7.51%	5.81%	+1.70%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	8.31%	6.49%	+1.82%