BNY Mellon High Yield Beta ETF (BKHY) is an exchange-traded fund that seeks total return consisting of capital appreciation and income by providing broad exposure to the U.S. dollar-denominated, high yield, fixed-rate, taxable corporate bond market. The fund primarily invests at least 80% of its assets in USD-denominated high yield corporate bonds rated Ba1/BB+/BB+ or below by the middle rating of Moody's, Fitch, and S&P, with at least $150 million par amount outstanding and one year to maturity; it employs a proprietary credit model to systematically limit exposure to low-quality and overpriced bonds while minimizing tracking error to the Bloomberg U.S. Corporate High Yield Total Return Index; Dreyfus Institutional Preferred Government Money Market Fund serves as a cash equivalent holding. BKHY trades on NYSE Arca with a net expense ratio of 0.22%, approximately $400 million in assets under management, a 30-day SEC yield of 6.83%, and high intraday liquidity.
Launched on April 22, 2020, and managed by BNY Mellon Investment Management through portfolio managers Paul Benson and Stephanie Shu at Insight North America, LLC, the ETF is part of the BNY Mellon ETF Trust and operates within the high yield bond segment targeting institutional, financial advisor, and individual investors seeking income and capital growth. Headquartered at 240 Greenwich Street in New York, New York, the fund's sponsor benefits from BNY Mellon's global investment services platform.
Recent developments include sustained asset growth to over $400 million amid favorable high yield market conditions in 2025, with year-to-date NAV total returns of approximately 7.91% as of December 2025; the parent organization, BNY Mellon, completed the acquisition of Archer Holdco in November 2024 to enhance managed account solutions integrated with ETF offerings like BKHY; additionally, in March 2025, BNY Investments partnered with Futu Securities to launch ETF portfolio strategies incorporating BKHY for Hong Kong retail investors, expanding its Asia-Pacific distribution. The fund maintains a diversified portfolio of approximately 1,700-1,800 holdings across sectors such as energy, consumer cyclicals, and telecommunications, with top positions including Cloud Software Group, EchoStar Corp., and TransDigm Inc. bonds. No major reorganizations or new product launches specific to BKHY have occurred in the last 1-2 years.