Xtrackers USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF

Xtrackers USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYLB), from DWS, is an index fund. It holds a broad sample of US-dollar high-yield corporate bonds, often called "junk" bonds, to track the Solactive USD High Yield Corporates Total Market Index. Its 0.05% expense ratio is the lowest among similar funds, tied with one rival, against a peer average of 0.47%. It pays monthly, with a trailing 12-month yield of 6.7% as of October 27, 2026, but it carries real credit risk.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, HYLB returned +1.6%, 6th of 8 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +3.7%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 22.9% and regained its old high 7.6 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-10.8%); its best was 2019 (+12.8%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 23% (Feb 14, 2020 to Mar 23, 2020), recovered by Nov 9, 2020.

As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 1,269 securities; the ten largest made up 3.61% of assets, and 7.29% sat in cash and money-market holdings.

The bonds mature in 4.6 years on average (weighted by size), with an average coupon of 6.62%.

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors added a net $102.2M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +0.17%, -0.17%, +0.97%.

HYLB follows the Solactive USD High Yield Corporates Total Market Index. Solactive AG builds the index and is independent of DWS. To qualify, a bond must be US dollar-denominated and rated below investment grade, based on a combined rating from Moody's, Fitch and S&P. The issuing company's country of risk must count as a developed market. The issuer needs at least $1 billion of bonds outstanding, and the bond itself at least $400 million. The bond's original maturity can be no more than 15 years, and it must have at least one year left until it matures (20 months for new additions). These rules aim for a more easily traded slice of the junk-bond market. As of October 31, 2025, the index held 1,264 bonds from 549 issuers.

Bonds are weighted by market value, and no single issuer can exceed 3%. The index is rebalanced every month. The fund uses "representative sampling": it holds a selection of the index's bonds that resembles the whole, not every one. Many of its holdings are Rule 144A bonds, which are sold privately to large institutions and can be harder to sell or value.

As of August 31, 2026, the fund had 1,269 holdings, and the top 10 made up just 3.61% of assets. Average time to maturity was 4.6 years and the average coupon was 6.62%. The fund may also lend out up to one-third of its assets.

• HYLB charges 0.05% a year, versus an average of 0.47% for the similar funds below (1st of 8, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $5 in the first year and $64 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

HYLB pays monthly from a diversified basket of high-yield corporate bonds and charges very little, but it has fallen sharply in stock-market selloffs.

HYLB may add steady monthly income. Its trailing 12-month yield was 6.7% as of October 27, 2026. It costs 0.05% a year, which works out to $64 over 10 years in the SEC's standard $10,000 example. The trade-off is that junk bonds often fall alongside stocks. The fund launched in December 2016, so it has no record from 2008. In the 2020 COVID crash it dropped 22.9% in about a month and took about 7.6 months to recover. In 2022 it fell 15.3% from its peak and needed about 15 months to get back. That year, down 10.8%, was its worst calendar year. Someone drawing income in a year like that might have to sell shares at low prices. Past results don't predict future results, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by bond funds with the closest average maturity and issuer mix (N-PORT).