# JNK ETF: fees, returns, drawdowns and holdings

> What JNK holds, its 0.4% yearly fee, returns by year, its worst drop, and which Tactfolio strategies hold it. Updated daily.

State Street SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF (JNK) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by SPDR (State Street). This fund lends money to companies with lower credit ratings by owning their US dollar bonds. It charges 0.4% a year. From December 2007 to October 2026 it returned about 4.8% a year, and its worst drop was −38.5%.

Written by [the Tactfolio research team](https://tactfolio.com/about/editorial-policy). Fund facts checked October 16, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.

## Key points

- Expense ratio: 0.4% a year (about $40 on $10,000).
- Started trading on November 28, 2007.
- Last close: $92.28 on October 16, 2026.
- Return over the last year: 1.6%.
- Worst drop since 2007: −38.5%.
- 1 Tactfolio classic strategy holds it.

## How has JNK done since 2007?

From December 2007 to October 2026, JNK returned about 4.8% a year. The S&P 500 returned about 11.2% a year over the same dates. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $24,063 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

| Period | JNK | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 month | −1.7% | 1.5% |
| 3 months | −2.3% | 1.9% |
| 6 months | −1.4% | 9.3% |
| Year to date | −0.2% | 12.8% |
| 1 year | 1.6% | 16.8% |
| 3 years, per year | 8.1% | 22.0% |
| 5 years, per year | 3.1% | 12.8% |
| 10 years, per year | 4.2% | 15.4% |
| Since 2007, per year | 4.8% | 11.2% |

Periods longer than a year show the return per year (CAGR). Prices through October 16, 2026. Figures use daily closing prices adjusted for splits, with dividends reinvested. They do not include taxes or the cost of buying and selling. Past results do not tell you what will happen next.

## JNK returns by month and year

JNK rose in 146 of its 227 months (64%). Its best month was December 2008, at 17.0%. Its worst was October 2008, at −19.1%.

| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Full year |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 (part) | 0.6% | 0.0% | −1.0% | 1.7% | 0.5% | 0.1% | −0.2% | 0.9% | −2.9% | 0.1% |  |  | −0.2% |
| 2025 | 1.4% | 0.9% | −1.3% | −0.1% | 1.8% | 2.0% | 0.2% | 1.2% | 1.0% | −0.1% | 0.8% | 0.6% | 8.8% |
| 2024 | 0.1% | 0.3% | 1.2% | −1.3% | 1.6% | 0.5% | 2.2% | 1.6% | 1.6% | −1.0% | 1.7% | −0.9% | 7.7% |
| 2023 | 4.0% | −1.9% | 2.1% | 0.1% | −1.3% | 1.9% | 1.3% | 0.3% | −1.7% | −1.1% | 4.8% | 3.4% | 12.4% |
| 2022 | −2.8% | −0.8% | −1.4% | −4.4% | 1.5% | −7.6% | 6.8% | −4.2% | −3.9% | 3.1% | 3.6% | −1.9% | −12.2% |
| 2021 | −0.5% | 0.1% | 1.0% | 0.7% | 0.1% | 1.3% | 0.2% | 0.5% | −0.2% | −0.3% | −1.3% | 2.4% | 4.0% |
| 2020 | −0.5% | −1.5% | −11.0% | 5.0% | 3.5% | −0.4% | 5.4% | 0.1% | −1.0% | 0.5% | 3.5% | 2.1% | 5.0% |
| 2019 | 5.2% | 1.4% | 1.3% | 1.3% | −2.0% | 3.1% | 0.1% | 0.7% | 0.4% | −0.1% | 0.6% | 2.0% | 14.9% |
| 2018 | −0.1% | −0.9% | −0.5% | 0.5% | −0.2% | 0.1% | 1.8% | 0.6% | 0.6% | −2.0% | −0.8% | −2.3% | −3.3% |
| 2017 | 1.3% | 1.3% | −0.3% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 0.1% | 1.0% | 0.1% | 0.6% | 0.2% | −0.4% | 0.3% | 6.5% |
| 2016 | −2.1% | 1.2% | 3.0% | 3.6% | 0.8% | 1.8% | 1.6% | 1.9% | 1.0% | −0.8% | 0.1% | 1.9% | 15.0% |
| 2015 | 0.9% | 2.6% | −0.9% | 1.1% | 0.4% | −2.1% | −0.7% | −2.1% | −3.2% | 2.8% | −2.6% | −3.0% | −6.8% |
| 2014 | 0.6% | 2.3% | 0.0% | 0.5% | 0.9% | 0.9% | −2.4% | 2.5% | −2.4% | 0.9% | −1.5% | −1.5% | 0.8% |
| 2013 | 0.3% | 0.7% | 1.0% | 2.1% | −2.3% | −2.2% | 2.5% | −1.0% | 0.9% | 2.5% | 0.8% | 0.5% | 5.9% |
| 2012 | 2.6% | 2.1% | −1.2% | 1.5% | −3.5% | 4.2% | 1.7% | 1.2% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 0.5% | 1.5% | 12.8% |
| 2011 | 2.0% | 1.4% | 0.0% | 1.6% | 0.6% | −1.0% | 0.7% | −3.0% | −6.1% | 8.4% | −2.2% | 3.5% | 5.1% |
| 2010 | 0.2% | 0.7% | 3.5% | 1.9% | −5.2% | 0.9% | 5.1% | −0.4% | 3.5% | 2.9% | −1.9% | 2.7% | 14.2% |
| 2009 | −1.6% | −10.2% | 5.5% | 14.2% | 7.0% | 1.7% | 6.6% | −0.1% | 6.2% | −0.3% | 1.4% | 3.7% | 37.5% |
| 2008 | −2.3% | −3.4% | 0.5% | 3.7% | 0.4% | −3.5% | −1.1% | −0.2% | −7.6% | −19.1% | −8.4% | 17.0% | −24.7% |
| 2007 (part) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 0.7% | 0.7% |

Each month runs from the last close of the month before. The first month counts from the first close.

## How risky is JNK compared with the S&P 500?

Measured from October 2021 to October 2026, on the days both traded.

- **Beta 0.33.** When the S&P 500 moved 1% in a day, JNK tended to move about 0.33%.
- **Correlation 0.75.** JNK moved with the S&P 500 some of the time.
- **Up and down months.** In months the S&P 500 rose, JNK rose 38% as much on average. In months it fell, JNK fell 49% as much.

| Measure | JNK | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Return per year | 3.1% | 12.8% |
| Volatility | 7.6% | 17.1% |
| Worst drop | −16.7% | −24.5% |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.44 | 0.79 |
| Sortino ratio | 0.63 | 1.15 |
| Calmar ratio | 0.18 | 0.52 |

Volatility is how much the price swings in a year. The Sharpe ratio is return per unit of volatility, the Sortino ratio counts only the falls, and the Calmar ratio is the return per year over the worst drop. Higher ratios mean more return for the risk taken.

## Is JNK above its 200-day average?

JNK closed 1.3% below its 200-day average on October 16, 2026. A rule that holds JNK only above that average would be out of it today.

- Its 50-day average is 0.4% above its 200-day average.
- It closed 3.0% below its highest close of the last 52 weeks.

A moving average is the average close over the last so many days. Trend rules such as [the 10-month moving average strategy](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/faber-10-month-moving-average.md) hold a fund only while it is above one. You can [build that rule for JNK](https://tactfolio.com/builder) and backtest it in a minute.

## What was JNK's worst drop?

A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. JNK's worst fall was −38.5%, from January 2, 2008 to March 9, 2009. It got back to that high on October 22, 2009. On October 16, 2026 it was 3.0% below its highest close.

| Drop | Started | Bottom | Back to the high | Fall took | Recovery took |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −38.5% | Jan 2, 2008 | Mar 9, 2009 | Oct 22, 2009 | 14 months | 7 months |
| −22.9% | Feb 20, 2020 | Mar 23, 2020 | Nov 4, 2020 | 32 days | 7 months |
| −17.0% | Sep 2, 2014 | Feb 11, 2016 | Aug 15, 2016 | 17 months | 6 months |
| −16.7% | Dec 27, 2021 | Sep 27, 2022 | Mar 20, 2024 | 9 months | 18 months |
| −10.9% | Jul 21, 2011 | Oct 4, 2011 | Jan 18, 2012 | 2 months | 3 months |

Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.

## What does JNK hold?

This fund lends money to companies with lower credit ratings by owning their US dollar bonds. These are often called junk bonds. They pay more interest than safer bonds, but there is a bigger chance a company cannot pay back.

It tracks the Bloomberg High Yield Very Liquid Index. It had 1,161 holdings as of October 15, 2026, according to SPDR (State Street).

| Fact | JNK |
| --- | --- |
| Full name | State Street SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF |
| Issuer | SPDR (State Street) |
| Expense ratio | 0.4% a year |
| Started trading | November 28, 2007 |
| Tracks | Bloomberg High Yield Very Liquid Index |
| Type | US bonds, ETF |
| Holdings | 1,161 holdings as of October 15, 2026 |
| Facts checked | October 16, 2026 on the [SPDR (State Street) fund page](https://www.ssga.com/us/en/intermediary/etfs/state-street-spdr-bloomberg-high-yield-bond-etf-jnk) |

## What is the JNK expense ratio?

JNK charges 0.4% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.4% fee comes to about $40 a year. Of the 162 ETFs on Tactfolio, 12% charge more.

You never get a bill for it. The fund takes the fee out of its own value a little each day.

## Which Tactfolio strategies hold JNK?

One classic strategy holds JNK at least some of the time. Each is a set of written rules you can open, test and copy.

- [Paul Novell's Tactical Bond Strategy](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/novell-tactical-bond-strategy.md), by Paul Novell, 2014

## How does JNK compare with similar ETFs?

Funds that can stand in for JNK:

- [USHY](https://tactfolio.com/etf/USHY.md): iShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF, 0.08% a year
- [HYG](https://tactfolio.com/etf/HYG.md): iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF, 0.49% a year
- [VCIT](https://tactfolio.com/etf/VCIT.md): Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF, 0.03% a year
- [LQD](https://tactfolio.com/etf/LQD.md): iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF, 0.14% a year

See [all 4 JNK alternatives](https://tactfolio.com/alternatives/JNK.md), compared on the same dates as JNK.

## Test JNK in your own rules

Tactfolio is a platform where you build rules-based investing strategies, backtest them on decades of real prices, share them, and run them automatically in your own Alpaca account. Open the [builder](https://tactfolio.com/builder), add JNK, and see how a rule such as "hold it only above its 200-day average" would have done. Strategies run on daily prices and hold US stocks and ETFs only.

## The details

Prices come from Tactfolio's stored daily prices for JNK and SPY. Each close is adjusted for splits, and dividends are reinvested on the day the fund pays them out. CAGR is the steady yearly return that turns the starting value into the ending value. Volatility is the yearly standard deviation of daily returns. Beta and correlation compare daily returns with the S&P 500 over the same dates.

Fund facts come from SPDR (State Street). We checked them on October 16, 2026. Read [what a backtest simulates](https://tactfolio.com/docs/backtests.md) and [how to read drawdown and CAGR](https://tactfolio.com/docs/concepts/reading-a-backtest.md) for more on these measures.

## Research and test it

- [Portfolio rebalancing](https://tactfolio.com/learn/portfolio-rebalancing): What portfolio rebalancing is, why a 60/40 mix drifts, calendar vs threshold methods, and how taxes and costs fit in.
- [Risk parity](https://tactfolio.com/learn/risk-parity): Risk parity balances risk instead of dollars. See a simple stock and bond example, why funds use leverage, and what went wrong in 2022.
- [ETF screener](https://tactfolio.com/screener.md): A free ETF screener for 162 US-listed funds. Filter by type, issuer and fee, sort by returns or worst drop, and compare funds side by side.
- [ETF expense ratio](https://tactfolio.com/learn/etf-expense-ratio): What an ETF expense ratio is, how the fund charges it, and how 0.03% vs 1% adds up over 10 and 30 years, with real fund examples.
- [Backtest a portfolio](https://tactfolio.com/trading-tools/backtest-portfolio): Backtest a portfolio of US stocks and ETFs. Enter tickers and shares, pick when to rebalance, and get the results with a link to share.
- [Backtesting](https://tactfolio.com/backtesting): Free backtesting software for stocks, ETFs, and crypto perps.

## Common questions

### What is the expense ratio of JNK?

JNK charges 0.4% a year, according to SPDR (State Street) as of October 16, 2026. That is about $40 a year for every $10,000 you hold.

### When did JNK start trading?

JNK started trading on November 28, 2007. It is run by SPDR (State Street).

### What does JNK track?

JNK tracks the Bloomberg High Yield Very Liquid Index. This fund lends money to companies with lower credit ratings by owning their US dollar bonds.

### How much has JNK returned per year?

From December 2007 to October 2026, JNK returned about 4.8% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −38.5%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.

### Is JNK above its 200-day moving average?

On October 16, 2026, JNK closed 1.3% below its 200-day moving average. This page updates after each US market close.

### Which strategies use JNK?

One of Tactfolio's classic strategies hold JNK, including Paul Novell's Tactical Bond Strategy.

## Sources

- [SPDR (State Street): State Street SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF fund page](https://www.ssga.com/us/en/intermediary/etfs/state-street-spdr-bloomberg-high-yield-bond-etf-jnk)

> Not financial advice. Tactfolio is a research and automation tool. It is not a broker or a financial adviser. This page is for education only. Backtests are hypothetical. They show how rules would have done on past prices, not how they will do. All investing involves risk, including losing the money you put in.