Pimco, SSgA Junk Bond ETFs on Diverging Course

Pimco’s 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF reported $204.1 million of inflows on April 8, the same day the SPDR Barclays High Yield Bond ETF recorded its second-biggest daily redemption since its inception more than five years ago, equal to about $378 million worth of shares, Bloomberg reports.

Pimco’s ETF has amassed $1.63 billion of net assets since its June 2011 inception, according to data on Pimco’s website. The fund bets on debt that’s less sensitive to rising interest rates, with high-yield bonds that mature in five or fewer years poised to outperform dollar- denominated notes on average for the first time since 2008.

Biggest Withdrawal

The biggest withdrawal from State Street’s fund, which trades under the ticker JNK, happened in May 2012, when an investor used the fund to anonymously obtain almost $780 million of speculative-grade bonds without moving prices in the secondary market, according to Bloomberg.

The investor on May 10 exchanged as much as 19.7 million shares in State Street’s ETF for the equivalent of about $779.3 million in bonds held by the fund, Bloomberg data show.

Investors withdrew 9.25 million shares from the SPDR Barclays High Yield Bond ETF, according to data reported on April 8 compiled by Bloomberg. The fund’s share price has declined 0.44% this month, while the average price on the Bank of America Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield index rose 0.04%.

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