Want To Bet Against High-Yield? Try An ETF

ProShares has launched an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that will provide investors inverse exposure to the high yield bond market‹a first for the market, the Bethesda, Md.-based ETF manager said in a statement today.

The ETF, the ProShares Short High Yield, operates by betting against the daily performance of the Markit iBoxx $ Liquid High Yield Index.

"For investors who believe that high yield bonds are ripe for a pullback, [the ProShares Short High Yield ETF] can be used to help hedge against or to seek to benefit from potential declines," said Michael Sapir, chairman and CEO of ProShares.

"High-yield bonds have had a strong rebound since the financial crisis, with indexes reaching all-time highs and high yield funds attracting significant inflows over the past two years," Sapir added.

ProShares has four other bond-focused ETFs that are benchmarked to Treasurys, with more than $7 billion in assets under management.

The ProShares Short High Yield ETF is listed on New York Stock Exchange¹s Arca as SJB.

Markit¹s iBoxx $ Liquid High Yield Index is a market-value weighted index designed to provide a balanced representation of U.S. dollar-denominated high yield corporate bonds.

Richard Kellerhals writes for Leveraged Finance News.

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