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Is Invesco Global Short Term High Yield Bond ETF (PGHY) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Launched on 06/20/2013, the Invesco Global Short Term High Yield Bond ETF (PGHY - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the High-Yield/Junk Bond ETFs category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.

Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.

But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.

Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.

Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

PGHY is managed by Invesco, and this fund has amassed over $233.89 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the High-Yield/Junk Bond ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the DB Global Short Maturity High Yield Bond Index.

DB Global Short Maturity High Yield Bond Index tracks US and foreign short-term, non-investment grade bonds denominated in US dollars and is rebalanced quarterly and re-weighted annually.

Cost & Other Expenses

For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.35%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 5.24%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

Looking at individual holdings, Invesco Government & Agency Portfolio (AGPXX) accounts for about 4.43% of total assets, followed by Exela Intermediate Llc / Exela Finance Inc-10.00%-7-15-2023 (AO1652368) and Easy Tactic Ltd-5.75%-1-13-2022 (AL9811616).

The top 10 holdings account for about 8.03% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF return is roughly 0.80% and was up about 2.22% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 12/07/2021), respectively. PGHY has traded between $21.34 and $22.25 during this last 52-week period.

PGHY has a beta of 0.27 and standard deviation of 10.29% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a high risk choice in the space. With about 462 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco Global Short Term High Yield Bond ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the High-Yield/Junk Bond ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF (JNK - Free Report) tracks Bloomberg Barclays High Yield Very Liquid Index and the iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG - Free Report) tracks Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index. SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF has $8.79 billion in assets, iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF has $18.30 billion. JNK has an expense ratio of 0.40% and HYG charges 0.48%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the High-Yield/Junk Bond ETFs.

Bottom Line

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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