SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF

SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF (JNK) is a State Street index fund that tracks the Bloomberg High Yield Very Liquid Index. The index holds US corporate bonds rated below investment grade, often called junk bonds. JNK pays income monthly, with a trailing 12-month yield of 6.78% as of October 27, 2026. Its 0.40% expense ratio is much higher than the 0.05% charged by State Street's SPDR Portfolio High Yield Bond ETF (SPHY), which holds a similar mix.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, JNK returned +1.6%, 4th of 8 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +3.3% and its 10-year +4.2%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 22.9% and regained its old high 7.4 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2008 (-24.8%); its best was 2009 (+37.6%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 38.5% (Jan 2, 2008 to Nov 21, 2008), recovered by Oct 22, 2009.

Living on JNK: its income record, cuts, and how much a $1,000 monthly income takes →

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 1,235 securities; the ten largest made up 4.52% of assets, and 5.81% sat in cash and money-market holdings.

The bonds mature in 5.8 years on average (weighted by size), with an average coupon of 7.24%.

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors added a net $331.4M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +1.75%, +0.55%, +0.19%.

JNK follows the Bloomberg High Yield Very Liquid Index, which focuses on high-yield bonds that trade easily. A bond qualifies only if it meets all of these rules. It must be a fixed-rate, US dollar corporate bond rated Ba1/BB+ or lower, using the middle rating from Moody's, S&P and Fitch. It needs one to 15 years left until maturity, at least $500 million outstanding, and an issue date within the past five years. The index leaves out floating-rate bonds, convertibles, defaulted bonds and emerging market bonds. No single issuer can make up more than 2% of the index, and the list is updated on the last business day of each month.

SSGA Funds Management, State Street's adviser, uses sampling. Instead of buying every bond in the index, it may hold a subset chosen to behave like the whole. At least 80% of assets must be in index bonds. The index had 1,056 securities as of July 31, 2026. The fund held 1,235 as of June 30, 2026, plus 5.81% in cash. Portfolio turnover, the share of holdings replaced in a year, was 78%.

The fund may use credit default swaps, contracts that pay out if a borrower defaults, though it reported no derivatives as of June 30, 2026. Average maturity was 5.8 years and average coupon was 7.24%. Prices fall when interest rates rise or when investors worry about defaults.

• JNK charges 0.4% a year, versus an average of 0.48% for the similar funds below (4th of 8, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $41 in the first year and $505 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

JNK pays interest monthly from a diversified basket of high-yield corporate bonds, but its price can swing much more than a typical bond fund's.

JNK pays income monthly. Its trailing 12-month yield was 6.78% as of October 27, 2026. That income comes with large price swings. The fund's deepest drop was 38.5%, from January to November 2008, and it took 11 months to recover. In 2008, its worst calendar year, it lost 24.8%. In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 22.9% in about a month and recovered in 7.4 months. In 2022 it fell 16.4% and took 17.7 months to recover. Someone selling shares to pay bills in years like those would lock in losses. On cost, the SEC's standard example shows about $41 in the first year and $505 over ten years on $10,000. SPHY charges 0.05%, compared with JNK's 0.40%. Past results don't predict future ones, and a retirement plan should weigh the whole portfolio, not one fund.

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