State Street’s High Income ETF Pays Over 7% Yield and Hasn’t Lost Money In 2025

Core Insights - The SPDR Blackstone High Income ETF (HYBL) offers a blend of high-yield corporate bonds, senior loans, and collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) for income-focused investors [3][4] - The ETF aims to provide monthly income with moderate credit risk exposure, utilizing a top-down allocation strategy and bottom-up security selection [4][5] Performance Overview - In 2025, HYBL achieved a total return of 7.38%, slightly outperforming the high-yield bond category average of 7.34% [6][8] - The ETF opened the year at $28.39 and closed at $28.455, resulting in a price gain of 0.23% [6][8] - Monthly distributions totaled approximately $1.89 per share, contributing significantly to the total return [6][8] Stability and Volatility - Price volatility for HYBL has been low, with the most significant drawdown occurring in April 2025, where it fell to $27.01 [7][8] - The ETF has traded within a narrow range of $28.40 to $28.70 for eight consecutive months, indicating stability [7][8] - The fund holds 671 positions, which contributes to its underlying credit quality and diversification [7][8] Yield and Income Generation - The fund has a weighted average all-in rate of 7.06%, with a 30-day SEC yield of 6.76% and a distribution yield of 7.26% based on actual payouts [5][8] - HYBL is viewed as a complement to equity-based income funds, appealing to investors seeking diversification in high-income strategies [5]