At a glance
USHY charges 0.08% a year, below the 0.35% average of the 7 funds most like it (the 3rd cheapest of 8). It has $28.59B in assets, the largest of that group; it paid 7.18% of its price in distributions over the past 12 months, monthly. Over the past year it returned +1.2% with distributions reinvested, 6th of those 8 funds; over three years it returned +7.7% a year. At its worst it fell 15.4% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 15 months after the low. Its ten largest positions make up 3.1% of the fund, out of 1,903 in all.
The short version
iShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (USHY) is a BlackRock index fund that tracks the ICE BofA US High Yield Constrained Index. The index holds U.S. dollar corporate bonds rated below investment grade, known as junk bonds, and caps each issuer at 2%. Its annual fee (expense ratio) of 0.08% is far below the 0.35% average of similar funds. As of October 27, 2026, its 12-month trailing yield was 7.11%, paid out monthly.
Price history
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USHY +1.2% over the year to Nov 2, 2026, total return with distributions reinvested.
How it has behaved
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | Since start | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USHY official prospectus, to Dec 31, 2025 | — | +8.79% | — | +4.50% | — | +4.87% |
| ICE BofA US Broad Market Index index, same period | — | +7.15% | — | -0.42% | — | +1.79% |
| USHY price data to Nov 2, 2026 | 0.0% | +1.2% | +7.7% | +3.6% | — | +5.0% |
- Over the year to Nov 2, 2026, USHY returned +1.2%, 6th of 8 among similar funds.
- Its 5-year annualized return was +3.6%.
- Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-11.2%); its best was 2023 (+12.7%).
- The deepest fall in its price history was 15.6% (Dec 27, 2021 to Sep 27, 2022), recovered by Dec 21, 2023.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data | Prospectus (official) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -0.0% | — |
| 2025 | +8.8% | +8.79% |
| 2024 | +8.5% | +8.30% |
| 2023 | +12.7% | +13.50% |
| 2022 | -11.2% | -11.35% |
| 2021 | +5.0% | +5.14% |
| 2020 | — | +6.02% |
| 2019 | — | +14.63% |
| 2018 | — | -2.54% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Not in the price data, which starts Jun 2, 2020 |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 14.6% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 15.4%, back to its old high 14.8 months after the low |
Dividends and income
Show as a table
| Year | Per share | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | $1.9100 | |
| 2025 | $2.5300 | -0.4% |
| 2024 | $2.5400 | +5.8% |
| 2023 | $2.4000 | +14.3% |
| 2022 | $2.1000 | +1.0% |
| 2021 | $2.0800 |
Living on USHY: its income record, cuts, and how much a $1,000 monthly income takes →
What's inside
As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 1,903 securities; the ten largest made up 3.08% of assets, and 13.85% sat in cash and money-market holdings.
| Holding | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| 1261229 BC LTD Bonds and notes | 0.47% | |
| MERIDIAN ARC HOLDCO LLC Bonds and notes | 0.39% | |
| ECHOSTAR CORP Bonds and notes | 0.39% | |
| QUIKRETE HOLDINGS INC Bonds and notes | 0.29% | |
| PR RNO PROPERTY OWNER 1 Bonds and notes | 0.28% | |
| ASURION LLC/ASURION CO Bonds and notes | 0.26% | |
| CLOUD SOFTWARE GRP LLC Bonds and notes | 0.26% | |
| CLOUD SOFTWARE GRP LLC Bonds and notes | 0.25% | |
| HUB INTERNATIONAL LTD Bonds and notes | 0.24% | |
| SV RNO PROPERTY OWNER 1 Bonds and notes | 0.24% | |
| WULF COMPUTE LLC Bonds and notes | 0.24% | |
| NEXSTAR MEDIA INC Bonds and notes | 0.23% | |
| CRC INSURANCE GROUP LLC Bonds and notes | 0.23% | |
| VENTURE GLOBAL LNG INC Bonds and notes | 0.22% | |
| CORE SCIENTIFIC FINANCE Bonds and notes | 0.21% |
By country
United States 82.12%Canada 4.07%United Kingdom 1.58%XX 1.48%Bermuda 1.31%By issuer
Companies 94.07%Other 2.83%The bonds mature in 5.4 years on average (weighted by size), with an average coupon of 6.69%.
Source: N-PORT holdings report as of Jul 31, 2026. Cash, money-market funds and derivatives are shown separately from the securities list.What changed recently
- Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors added a net $2.69B (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
- Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +0.46%, +0.29%, -0.26%.
How it works
USHY tracks the ICE BofA US High Yield Constrained Index. ICE Data Indices, a firm independent of BlackRock, runs the index. To qualify, a bond must be a U.S. dollar corporate bond with an average rating below investment grade from Fitch, Moody's and S&P Global. It also needs at least $250 million outstanding, an original maturity of at least 18 months and at least a year left until it matures. Issuers must be based in the U.S. or another listed developed country, such as Canada, the U.K. or Japan. Bonds in default and equity-linked securities are left out.
Bonds are weighted by market value, so larger issues count for more, but no single issuer can exceed 2%. As of October 31, 2025, the index held about 1,918 bonds, a significant share of them from industrial companies. A bond leaves the index once it breaks a rule, for example when less than a year remains to maturity.
BlackRock uses representative sampling. Instead of owning every bond, it holds a subset chosen to match the index's yield, ratings, maturities, sectors and duration (a measure of sensitivity to interest rates). At least 80% of assets must be in index bonds. Up to 10% can go into futures, options, swaps or other bonds that help it track the index. The fund may lend out securities worth up to a third of its total assets. It does not move to cash when markets fall.
What it really costs
- USHY charges 0.08% a year, versus an average of 0.35% for the similar funds below (3rd of 8, cheapest first).
- Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $8 in the first year and $103 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).
| Cost of $10,000 (SEC example) | 1 yr | 3 yrs | 5 yrs | 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USHY | $8 | $26 | $45 | $103 |
Structure and tax notes
- Bond prices move opposite to interest rates; the longer the maturities it holds, the more its price reacts to rate changes.
In a retirement portfolio
It pays high monthly income from a broad basket of junk bonds at a low fee, but its credit risk means it can drop sharply in downturns, as it did in 2020 and 2022.
USHY could fill an income role. Its 12-month trailing yield was 7.11% as of October 27, 2026, paid monthly. In the SEC's standard $10,000 example, its 0.08% expense ratio costs $8 in the first year and $103 over 10 years. The trade-off is credit risk. The fund launched in 2017, so it has no 2008 record. It lost 13.02% in the first quarter of 2020, then gained 9.56% the next quarter. Its worst calendar year was 2022, when it fell 11.35%. In price data from June 2020, its deepest drop was 15.6%, from December 27, 2021 to September 27, 2022. It took 14.8 months from that low to recover. A retiree drawing cash from it during that stretch would have been cashing in shares at depressed prices.
Past results don't predict future returns. A retirement plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.
Who it may suit — and who should look elsewhere
May suit
- Income seekers comfortable with credit risk: USHY pays monthly, with a 12-month trailing yield of 7.11% as of October 27, 2026.
- Cost-conscious investors: the 0.08% expense ratio costs $8 in year one on $10,000 in the SEC example. HYG charges 0.49%.
- Those wanting broad junk-bond diversification: about 1,900 holdings, a 2% issuer cap and a top 10 totaling 3.08% (July 31, 2026).
Look elsewhere if
- Investors who need a bond fund that holds up in market crashes: USHY lost 13.02% in early 2020 and 11.35% in 2022.
- People who may need the money soon: its 15.6% drop from December 2021 to September 2022 took until December 2023 to recover.
- Investors set on the lowest possible fee: SPHY (0.05%) and BBHY (0.07%) hold similar high-yield bonds for slightly less.
Close alternatives
Matched by bond funds with the closest average maturity and issuer mix (N-PORT).
| Fund | Avg. maturity | Cost | Net assets | 1 yr | 3 yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USHY this fund | 5.4 yrs | 0.08% | $28.59B | +1.2% | +7.7% |
| HYG iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond E… | 5.4 yrs | 0.49% | $16.19B | +0.9% | +7.4% |
| SPHY SPDR Portfolio High Yield Bond ETF | 5.4 yrs | 0.05% | $11.33B | +1.8% | +8.9% |
| FLHY Franklin High Yield Corporate ETF | 5.4 yrs | 0.4% | $1.18B | +2.4% | +9.2% |
| BBHY JPMorgan BetaBuilders USD High Yield Corpor… | 5.3 yrs | 0.07% | $622.6M | +1.5% | +8.6% |
| HYXF iShares ESG Advanced High Yield Corporate B… | 5.5 yrs | 0.35% | $194.4M | +0.9% | +8.8% |
| SRLN SPDR Blackstone Senior Loan ETF | 5.2 yrs | 0.7% | $5.21B | +3.7% | +7.0% |
| JNK SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF | 5.8 yrs | 0.4% | $7.35B | +1.6% | +8.7% |
Questions investors ask
Does USHY pay monthly dividends?
Yes. USHY pays distributions every month. Over the 12 months to October 27, 2026, it paid $2.55 per share, a trailing yield of 7.11%. The money comes from interest on its bonds. Their average coupon (the yearly interest rate a bond pays) was 6.69% as of July 31, 2026. Payment amounts are not fixed. The prospectus warns that income can fall if rates drop, or if bonds are repaid early and replaced with lower-yielding ones.
What's the difference between USHY and HYG?
The main difference is cost. USHY charges 0.08% a year, while HYG, also from iShares, charges 0.49%. Both hold U.S. dollar junk bonds averaging about 5.4 years to maturity, but they track different indexes. As of October 27, 2026, USHY returned 1.6% over one year and 8.9% a year over three years. HYG returned 1.2% and 8.6%. USHY also had more assets: $28.6 billion as of July 31, 2026, against $16.2 billion for HYG as of August 31, 2026.
Is USHY good for retirement income?
It can be one source of retirement income, but it carries more risk than high-quality bond funds. USHY pays monthly, with a 7.11% trailing yield as of October 27, 2026, and charges a 0.08% expense ratio. Junk bonds tend to fall when the economy weakens. The fund lost 11.35% in 2022 and 13.02% in the first quarter of 2020. It may suit retirees who treat it as one income source alongside safer holdings and won't need to cash out after a slump.
Is USHY risky?
Yes, more than investment-grade bond funds. It holds junk bonds from companies with weaker credit, which are more likely to default. Its worst calendar year was 2022, when it fell 11.35%. Its deepest decline in price data from June 2020 was 15.6%. Annualized volatility, a measure of how much returns swing, was 4.8% over the three years to October 27, 2026. Spreading money across about 1,900 holdings, with each issuer capped at 2% in the index, limits the damage from any single default.
What are USHY's top holdings?
USHY's largest positions are small because it spreads money across about 1,900 holdings. As of July 31, 2026, the biggest were bonds from 1261229 BC Ltd (0.47% of assets), Meridian Arc Holdco (0.39%), EchoStar (0.39%), Quikrete Holdings (0.29%) and PR RNO Property Owner 1 (0.28%). The 10 largest positions totaled just 3.08% of the fund, and two of them were separate Cloud Software Group bonds. About 82% of holdings came from U.S. issuers, with Canada next at about 4%.