Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Invesco Global ex-US High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (PGHY) a Strong ETF Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Making its debut on 06/20/2013, smart beta exchange traded fund Invesco Global ex-US High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (PGHY - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the High-Yield/Junk Bond ETFs category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.

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.

These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.

The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Because the fund has amassed over $223.01 million, this makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the High-Yield/Junk Bond ETFs. PGHY is managed by Invesco. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the DB Global Short Maturity High Yield Bond Index.

The ICE USD Global High Yield Excluding US Issuers Constrained Index comprises of U.S. dollar denominated below investment grade corporate debt publicly issued in the U.S. domestic and eurobond markets by non-U.S. issuers.

Cost & Other Expenses

Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.

Annual operating expenses for PGHY are 0.35%, which makes it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 7.13%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

When you look at individual holdings, Industrial & Commercial Bank Of China Ltd-3.20%-12-31-2079 (ICBCAS) accounts for about 1.33% of the fund's total assets, followed by Samarco Mineracao Sa-9.50%-06-30-2031 (SAMMIN) and Invesco Government & Agency Portfolio (AGPXX).

PGHY's top 10 holdings account for about 6.91% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF return is roughly 0.91% and is up about 9.44% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 04/10/2026), respectively. PGHY has traded between $19.14 and $20.26 during this last 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 0.20 and standard deviation of 5.33% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 592 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

Invesco Global ex-US 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 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 $16.86 billion in assets, iShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF has $23.95 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.

Zacks' 7 Best Strong Buy Stocks (New Research Report)

Valued at $99, click below to receive our just-released report predicting the 7 stocks that will soar highest in the coming month.

Click Here, It's Really Free

Published in