iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF

The iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (SHYG) tracks the Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield 0-5 Index. That index holds U.S. dollar “junk” bonds, meaning company debt rated below investment grade, that mature within five years. Because its bonds are short-term, its price reacts less to interest-rate changes, and it pays income monthly, with a 12-month yield of 7.16% as of October 27, 2026. Its 0.30% expense ratio is below the 0.42% average of similar funds.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, SHYG returned +2.4%, 5th of 8 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +4.7% and its 10-year +4.7%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 19.2% and regained its old high 7.8 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-4.8%); its best was 2016 (+12.5%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 19.3% (Feb 14, 2020 to Mar 23, 2020), recovered by Nov 17, 2020.

As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 1,160 securities; the ten largest made up 4.18% of assets, and 13.66% sat in cash and money-market holdings.

The bonds mature in 3.1 years on average (weighted by size), with an average coupon of 6.4%.

• Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors added a net $126.8M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +0.47%, +0.22%, -0.15%.

SHYG follows the Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield 0-5 Index. The index comes from Markit, which is independent of BlackRock. It holds high yield (“junk”) corporate bonds in U.S. dollars with zero to five years left until they mature. These bonds are generally rated below investment grade. Each bond needs at least $350 million outstanding and must pass Markit's liquidity screens, which include a minimum price. Bonds are weighted by market value, so larger issues count for more, but no issuer can be more than 3% of the index. The index rebalances monthly.

BlackRock does not try to beat the index. It uses “representative sampling.” Instead of buying every bond, it holds a sample picked to match the index's duration (how much prices move when interest rates change), maturity, credit ratings, yield and industry mix. At least 80% of assets must be in bonds from the index. Up to 10% can go to futures, options, swaps or other bonds that help the fund track the index. As of July 31, 2026, the fund held 1,160 issues with an average of 3.1 years left to maturity.

The fund may lend out securities worth up to one-third of its assets. It also leans toward an industry when the index does. As of October 31, 2025, consumer goods and services companies made up a significant share.

• SHYG charges 0.3% a year, versus an average of 0.45% for the similar funds below (2nd of 8, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $31 in the first year and $381 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

Its short-term junk bonds paid a trailing yield of 7.16% as of October 27, 2026, distributed monthly, but they carry more credit risk than safer bonds.

SHYG holds short-term junk bonds (corporate debt rated below investment grade), which pay more than safer bonds but can fall sharply in downturns. Launched in 2013, it missed the 2008 crisis. Its deepest drop, 19.3% in the 2020 COVID crash, took 7.9 months to recover. In 2022, its worst calendar year (down 4.94%), it fell as much as 9.2% and took 12.9 months to recover. Selling or drawing income near those lows would have locked in losses.

Its trailing yield, based on the past year's payouts, was 7.16% as of October 27, 2026, paid monthly, though defaults or falling rates could shrink it. Its 0.30% annual fee ($31 in the first year on $10,000, per the SEC's standard example) is below the 0.45% peer average. Past results don't predict the future, 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).