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Is FlexShares High Yield Value-Scored Bond ETF (HYGV) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The FlexShares High Yield Value-Scored Bond ETF (HYGV - Free Report) made its debut on 07/17/2018, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the High-Yield/Junk Bond ETFs category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.

Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.

There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.

By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.

This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

HYGV is managed by Flexshares, and this fund has amassed over $1.15 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the High-Yield/Junk Bond ETFs. HYGV, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the NORTHERN TRUST HY VLU-SCRD US CORP BD ID.

The Northern Trust High Yield Value-Scored US Corporate Bond Index measures the performance of a diversified universe of high yield, US-dollar denominated bonds of companies exhibiting favorable fundamental qualities, market valuations and liquidity.

Cost & Other Expenses

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.37%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 7.44%.

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, Cash (USD_CCASH) accounts for about 2.04% of total assets, followed by Carvana Co Sr Sec Pik 31-9.00%-6-1-2031 (146869AM4) and 1011778 Bc Ulc / New Red Finance Inc Callable-4.00% (68245XAM1).

HYGV's top 10 holdings account for about 8.23% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF return is roughly 1% and is up roughly 6.79% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 02/26/2026), respectively. HYGV has traded between $38.45 and $41.28 during this last 52-week period.

HYGV has a beta of 0.43 and standard deviation of 5.59% for the trailing three-year period. With about 983 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

FlexShares High Yield Value-Scored 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 iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) tracks Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index and the iShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (USHY) tracks BofA Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield Constrained Index. iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF has $17.09 billion in assets, iShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF has $26.57 billion. HYG has an expense ratio of 0.49% and USHY changes 0.08%.

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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