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HYGWiShares High Yield Corporate Bond Buywrite Strategy ETF

Get income3y track recordRanked #881 of 1,622 in this goal

Tracks the investment results of an index reflecting a buy-write strategy on high yield corporate bonds.

By iShares · Launched 2022

Annual Cost

0.69%

#3,463 of 5,562 · average

Fund Size

$109M

#2,847 of 5,562 · mid-size

Dividend YieldGoal

12.00%

Track Record

3 years

#2,755 of 5,562 · seasoned

Performance

Total-return NAV · USD
Growth of $10,000
$10,656+6.6%

Total-return NAV, USD. Net of fund fees, before tax.

Classification

How Beacon categorizes this fund

Asset class

Alternative

Strategy

Option income

Index tracked

Cboe HYG BuyWrite Index

What it actually holds

By weight

Concentration

Top 3 holdings = 100.0% of fundconcentrated

iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF
99.7%
BLACKROCK CASH FUNDS TREASURY SL AGENCY SHARES
0.6%
MORGAN STANLEY & CO LLC
-0.2%

Asset allocation

Bonds
99.2%
Cash
55.4%

Risk profile

Last 12 months · Sharpe & Sortino need 3+ years
Volatility (1Y)
2.9%Low

Year-on-year price swings

Max drawdown
-5.5%Mild

Worst peak-to-trough loss

Sharpe (3Y)
0.56Decent risk-adjusted returns
Sortino (3Y)
0.76Moderate downside risk

Where to buy

Listing

Exchange
Cboe BZX

Full fund details

Objective
Tracks the investment results of an index reflecting a buy-write strategy on high yield corporate bonds.
Strategy
Invests primarily in the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF while writing one-month call options to generate income. Aims to replicate the Cboe HYG BuyWrite Index.
Inception date
August 18, 2022
Fund family
iShares

Our take

Structural notes on how this fund behaves. Read our guide on the 6 warning signs.

Covered call
Warning

Covered call ETF — yield ≠ total return

The high distribution yield is not free income — it comes from selling upside via call options. Research finds these strategies systematically underperform their underlying index over full cycles, typically by 100–300 basis points per year depending on the option-overlay design. The monthly distributions make the shortfall hard to see in return summaries.

Source: Israelov & Ndong, 'A Devil's Bargain: When Generating Income Undermines Investment Returns' (NDVR, 2023)

Why we flagged this: strategy=option_income + option_income_strategy

Educational analysis of structural product characteristics. Not investment advice. Always read the fund prospectus and consult a qualified advisor before investing. More

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Data updated on 2026-06-20