At a glance
XBB charges 0.2% a year, below the 0.31% average of the 7 funds most like it (the 4th cheapest of 8). It has $517.7M in assets, the 8th largest of that group; it paid 5.56% of its price in distributions over the past 12 months, monthly. Over the past year it returned +1.4% with distributions reinvested, 6th of those 8 funds; over three years it returned +8.1% a year. Its ten largest positions make up 4.7% of the fund, out of 1,003 in all.
The short version
BondBloxx BB-Rated USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (XBB) tracks an ICE BofA index of BB-rated corporate bonds. BB is the highest credit tier within high-yield, or "junk," bonds. No single company can make up more than 2% of the index. The fund pays income monthly, with a trailing yield of 5.56% as of October 27, 2026. Its 0.20% expense ratio is below the 0.31% peer average but well above SPHY (0.05%) and BBHY (0.07%).
Price history
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XBB +1.4% over the year to Oct 27, 2026, total return with distributions reinvested.
How it has behaved
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | Since start | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XBB official prospectus, to Dec 31, 2025 | — | +8.72% | — | — | — | +6.95% |
| Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes) index, same period | — | +7.30% | — | — | — | +2.54% |
| Ice Bof A BB US Cash Pay HY Constrained Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes) index, same period | — | +8.86% | — | — | — | +7.14% |
| XBB price data to Oct 27, 2026 | +1.0% | +1.4% | +8.1% | — | — | +5.0% |
- Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, XBB returned +1.4%, 6th of 8 among similar funds.
- Its worst full calendar year was 2024 (+6.4%); its best was 2023 (+10.6%).
- The deepest fall in its price history was 8.9% (May 27, 2022 to Sep 27, 2022), recovered by Feb 1, 2023.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data | Prospectus (official) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +1.0% | — |
| 2025 | +8.6% | +8.72% |
| 2024 | +6.4% | +6.16% |
| 2023 | +10.6% | +11.00% |
| 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 | Before this security existed |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Before this security existed |
Dividends and income
Show as a table
| Year | Per share | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | $1.6600 | |
| 2025 | $2.2400 | -11.8% |
| 2024 | $2.5400 | +3.3% |
| 2023 | $2.4600 |
What's inside
As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 1,003 securities; the ten largest made up 4.65% of assets.
| Holding | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| MERIDIAN ARC HO 6.25% 04/30/31 Bonds and notes | 0.68% | |
| PR RNO PROPERTY 6.5% 05/01/31 Bonds and notes | 0.53% | |
| QUIKRETE HOLDI 6.375% 03/01/32 Bonds and notes | 0.49% | |
| SV RNO PROPERT 5.875% 03/01/31 Bonds and notes | 0.44% | |
| DISCOVERY HOLDI 5.05% 03/15/42 Bonds and notes | 0.44% | |
| NEXSTAR MEDIA IN 6.5% 09/15/33 Bonds and notes | 0.43% | |
| CENTENE CORP 4.625% 12/15/29 Bonds and notes | 0.42% | |
| ASURION LLC/ASURIO 8% 12/31/32 Bonds and notes | 0.42% | |
| WULF COMPUTE LL 7.75% 10/15/30 Bonds and notes | 0.41% | |
| CORE SCIENTIFIC 7.75% 05/15/31 Bonds and notes | 0.40% | |
| VENTURE GLOBAL L 9.5% 02/01/29 Bonds and notes | 0.40% | |
| OAK-EAGLE ACQUI 7.25% 07/01/33 Bonds and notes | 0.37% | |
| EMRLD BOR / EM 6.625% 12/15/30 Bonds and notes | 0.36% | |
| TRANSDIGM INC 6.375% 03/01/29 Bonds and notes | 0.35% | |
| AMERICAN AIRLIN 5.75% 04/20/29 Bonds and notes | 0.35% |
By country
United States 83.82%Canada 3.75%United Kingdom 1.82%Cayman Islands 1.41%Japan 1.25%By issuer
Companies 97.55%The bonds mature in 6.2 years on average (weighted by size), with an average coupon of 6.02%.
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 $70.2M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
- Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +0.53%, +0.25%, -0.38%.
How it works
XBB, run by BondBloxx, tracks the ICE BofA BB US Cash Pay High Yield Constrained Index. The index starts with U.S. dollar high-yield corporate bonds, often called junk bonds because their issuers are judged more likely to default. It keeps only bonds whose average rating from Moody's, S&P and Fitch is BB, the top tier below investment grade. Each bond must pay a fixed coupon, have at least $250 million outstanding and have at least one year left to maturity.
The index weights each bond by the amount outstanding, so bigger borrowers get bigger slices. It caps any single issuer at 2% and spreads the excess across the rest. It rebalances monthly and held about 1,066 bonds as of December 31, 2025.
BondBloxx does not buy every bond. It uses representative sampling, holding a subset chosen to match the index's sector mix, credit quality, yield and duration (a gauge of interest-rate sensitivity). The fund held 1,003 positions as of July 31, 2026. At least 80% of net assets must normally sit in BB-rated corporate bonds. The rest may go to Treasuries, cash, other funds or derivatives such as swaps, though it held no derivatives as of that date. Sampling and fees mean returns can trail the index.
What it really costs
- XBB charges 0.2% a year, versus an average of 0.31% for the similar funds below (4th of 8, cheapest first).
- Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $20 in the first year and $255 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).
| Cost of $10,000 (SEC example) | 1 yr | 3 yrs | 5 yrs | 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XBB | $20 | $64 | $113 | $255 |
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
XBB pays monthly income from corporate bonds rated at the top of the high-yield scale, but the companies that issue them carry real default risk.
XBB could add monthly income to a portfolio. Its trailing 12-month yield was 5.56% as of October 27, 2026, or $2.22 per share. It charges 0.20% a year. In the SEC's standard example, that comes to $20 in the first year and $255 over 10 years on a $10,000 investment. Its record under stress is short. The fund launched in May 2022, so it missed the 2008 and 2020 crashes and the start of the 2022 bear market. Its deepest drop was 8.9%, from May to September 2022, and it had recovered by February 2023. Its weakest full calendar year was 2024, which was still a 6.16% gain. Junk bonds tend to fall more than safer bonds when recessions push defaults higher. Someone who has to sell in a bad year could face bigger losses than this short record shows. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.
Who it may suit — and who should look elsewhere
May suit
- Income seekers who want monthly payouts from junk bonds but prefer the top BB tier; the trailing yield was 5.56% as of October 27, 2026.
- Investors who want wide diversification: 1,003 positions, a 2% cap per issuer, and top 10 holdings totaling just 4.65% as of July 31, 2026.
- Those who want BB-only high-yield exposure for 0.20% a year, below the 0.31% peer average and under HYG's 0.49% and JNK's 0.40%.
Look elsewhere if
- Cost-focused investors: high-yield funds such as SPHY (0.05%), BBHY (0.07%) and USHY (0.08%) charge a fraction of XBB's 0.20% expense ratio.
- Anyone who needs a safety cushion: these are junk bonds, and the fund, launched in May 2022, has never been through a recession.
- Investors focused on peer-beating returns: XBB ranked 8th of 8 similar funds over one year and 7th of 8 over three years as of October 27, 2026.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XBB this fund | 6.2 yrs | 0.2% | $517.7M | +1.4% | +8.1% |
| JNK SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF | 5.8 yrs | 0.4% | $7.35B | +1.6% | +8.7% |
| 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% |
| SPHY SPDR Portfolio High Yield Bond ETF | 5.4 yrs | 0.05% | $11.33B | +1.8% | +8.9% |
| USHY iShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond… | 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% |
| SRLN SPDR Blackstone Senior Loan ETF | 5.2 yrs | 0.7% | $5.21B | +3.7% | +7.0% |
Questions investors ask
Does XBB pay monthly dividends?
Yes. XBB pays income monthly, and the money comes from interest on the bonds it holds. Over the 12 months to October 27, 2026, it paid $2.22 per share, a trailing yield of 5.56%. The average coupon in the portfolio was 6.02% as of July 31, 2026. Payments change from month to month as the fund's bonds and interest income change, so past payouts don't guarantee future ones.
Is XBB a junk bond fund?
Yes. Its prospectus says it invests in below-investment-grade bonds, "sometimes called junk bonds." It limits itself to BB-rated bonds, the highest tier of high yield, but these bonds are still more likely to default than investment-grade bonds. The fund's deepest drop was 8.9%, between May and September 2022. Its weakest quarter was a 0.86% loss in the third quarter of 2022.
What's the difference between XBB and JNK?
XBB costs less and holds only BB-rated bonds, while JNK is a general high-yield bond fund. JNK was the closest match among similar funds, based on maturity and issuer mix. JNK charges 0.40% against XBB's 0.20%. It is also much larger, with $7.3 billion in net assets as of June 30, 2026, against XBB's $518 million as of July 31, 2026. As of October 27, 2026, JNK returned 1.6% over one year to XBB's 1.4%, and 8.7% a year over three years to XBB's 8.1%.
How has XBB performed since it launched?
XBB returned 6.95% a year from its May 2022 launch through December 31, 2025. Over the same period its index returned 7.14% a year and the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index returned 2.54%. Calendar-year returns were 11.00% in 2023, 6.16% in 2024 and 8.72% in 2025. More recent results were weaker. The fund was up 1.02% year to date through October 27, 2026, and 1.4% over the year to that date.
What is XBB's expense ratio?
XBB's expense ratio is 0.20%, with no fee waiver. In the SEC's standard example ($10,000 invested, a 5% annual return), that comes to about $20 after one year, $64 after three, $113 after five and $255 after ten. That is below the 0.31% average for similar funds and cheaper than HYG (0.49%) and JNK (0.40%). It costs more than SPHY (0.05%), BBHY (0.07%) and USHY (0.08%).