# USHY ETF: fees, returns, drawdowns and holdings

> What USHY holds, its 0.08% yearly fee, returns by year, its worst drop, and which Tactfolio strategies hold it. Updated daily.

iShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (USHY) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by iShares (BlackRock). This fund owns about 1,900 bonds from companies with lower credit ratings. It charges 0.08% a year. From October 2017 to October 2026 it returned about 4.4% a year, and its worst drop was −22.4%.

Written by [the Tactfolio research team](https://tactfolio.com/about/editorial-policy). Fund facts checked October 17, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.

## Key points

- Expense ratio: 0.08% a year (about $8 on $10,000).
- Started trading on October 25, 2017.
- Worst drop since 2017: −22.4%.
- No Tactfolio classic strategies hold it.

## What does USHY hold?

This fund owns about 1,900 bonds from companies with lower credit ratings. These are often called junk bonds. They pay more interest, but some companies may fail to pay back what they owe.

It tracks the ICE BofA US High Yield Constrained Index. It had 1,902 holdings as of October 15, 2026, according to iShares (BlackRock).

| Fact | USHY |
| --- | --- |
| Full name | iShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF |
| Issuer | iShares (BlackRock) |
| Expense ratio | 0.08% a year |
| Started trading | October 25, 2017 |
| Tracks | ICE BofA US High Yield Constrained Index |
| Type | US bonds, ETF |
| Holdings | 1,902 holdings as of October 15, 2026 |
| Facts checked | October 17, 2026 on the [iShares (BlackRock) fund page](https://www.ishares.com/us/products/291299/ishares-broad-usd-high-yield-corporate-bond-etf) |

## What is the USHY expense ratio?

USHY charges 0.08% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.08% fee comes to about $8 a year.

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

## How has USHY done since 2017?

From October 2017 to October 2026, USHY returned about 4.4% a year. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $14,716 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

| Measure | USHY |
| --- | --- |
| Total return | 47.2% |
| Return per year (CAGR) | 4.4% |
| Worst drop from a high | −22.4% |
| Volatility (how much it swings) | 8.1% |
| Last 12 months | 1.6% |
| Last 3 years, per year | 8.4% |
| Last 5 years, per year | 3.6% |

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.

## USHY returns by year

| Year | USHY return |
| --- | --- |
| 2026 (part of the year) | 0.0% |
| 2025 | 8.8% |
| 2024 | 8.5% |
| 2023 | 12.7% |
| 2022 | −11.2% |
| 2021 | 5.0% |
| 2020 | 6.2% |
| 2019 | 14.2% |
| 2018 | −2.4% |
| 2017 (part of the year) | 0.2% |

## What was USHY's worst drop?

A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. USHY's worst fall was −22.4%, from February 14, 2020 to March 23, 2020. It got back to that high on October 12, 2020.

The chart shows how far below its last high the fund was on each day. Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.

## Which Tactfolio strategies hold USHY?

No classic strategy holds USHY yet. You can add it to your own rules in the [builder](https://tactfolio.com/builder) and see how they would have done.

## How does USHY compare with similar ETFs?

Funds that can stand in for USHY:

- [JNK](https://tactfolio.com/etf/jnk.md): State Street SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF, 0.4% 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 USHY alternatives](https://tactfolio.com/alternatives/ushy.md), compared on the same dates as USHY.

## Test USHY 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 USHY, 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 USHY. 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.

Fund facts come from iShares (BlackRock). We checked them on October 17, 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 USHY?

USHY charges 0.08% a year, according to iShares (BlackRock) as of October 17, 2026. That is about $8 a year for every $10,000 you hold.

### When did USHY start trading?

USHY started trading on October 25, 2017. It is run by iShares (BlackRock).

### What does USHY track?

USHY tracks the ICE BofA US High Yield Constrained Index. This fund owns about 1,900 bonds from companies with lower credit ratings.

### How much has USHY returned per year?

From October 2017 to October 2026, USHY returned about 4.4% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −22.4%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.

### Which strategies use USHY?

None of Tactfolio's classic strategies hold USHY yet. You can test it in your own rules in the builder.

## Sources

- [iShares (BlackRock): iShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF fund page](https://www.ishares.com/us/products/291299/ishares-broad-usd-high-yield-corporate-bond-etf)

> 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.