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Is Invesco Fundamental High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (PHB) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Launched on 11/15/2007, the Invesco Fundamental High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (PHB - 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?

Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.

Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.

If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.

This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of 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

The fund is managed by Invesco. PHB has been able to amass assets over $524.04 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the High-Yield/Junk Bond ETFs. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the RAFI Bonds US High Yield 1-10 Index.

The RAFI Bonds US High Yield 1-10 Index is comprised of US dollar-denominated bonds that are registered with the SEC or that are Rule 144A securities that provide for registration rights and whose issuers are public companies listed on a major US stock exchange.

Cost & Other Expenses

Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.50%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 4.46%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

When you look at individual holdings, Synchrony Financial-7.25%-2-2-2033 accounts for about 1.93% of the fund's total assets, followed by United Airlines Holdings Inc-4.88%-1-15-2025 and Ford Motor Co-3.25%-2-12-2032.

PHB's top 10 holdings account for about 15.7% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added about 5.61% and is up about 7.93% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 11/08/2023), respectively. PHB has traded between $16.72 and $17.77 during this last 52-week period.

PHB has a beta of 0.43 and standard deviation of 7.10% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a high risk choice in the space. With about 154 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco Fundamental High Yield Corporate 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.

IShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (USHY - Free Report) tracks BofA Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield Constrained Index and the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG - Free Report) tracks Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index. IShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF has $9.25 billion in assets, iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF has $13.30 billion. USHY has an expense ratio of 0.15% and HYG charges 0.49%.

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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