SPDR ICE BofAML Broad High Yield Bond ETF (CJNK) is an exchange-traded fund that seeks to provide investment results that, before fees and expenses, correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the ICE BofA Broad High Yield Index. The fund employs a passive management strategy designed to track the index by investing at least 80% of its total assets in securities comprising the index; these include high yield bonds issued by U.S. dollar-denominated corporate issuers that are rated below investment grade, encompassing fixed-rate, floating-rate, zero-coupon, and payment-in-kind securities across various maturities and sectors such as energy, consumer cyclical, and telecommunications. It offers investors exposure to a broad segment of the U.S. high yield bond market, excluding the smallest issues and those with less liquidity, with a focus on bonds from issuers domiciled in developed markets.
Launched in 2017 and domiciled in the United States under the management of State Street Global Advisors, CJNK operates primarily in the fixed income asset class, targeting institutional and retail investors seeking income generation and diversification beyond investment-grade securities. The fund's geographic scope is centered on U.S.-traded securities, though underlying holdings reflect multinational corporate issuers; it maintains a portfolio of approximately 1,000 holdings to mitigate concentration risk. State Street Global Advisors, as sponsor and issuer within the SPDR family, oversees replication through a representative sampling approach rather than full replication.
Recent developments include the index transition in October 2021 from the Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield Broad Market Index to the ICE BofA Broad High Yield Index, enhancing breadth by incorporating additional high yield categories like middle market loans and covenant-lite instruments for improved market coverage. In response to evolving market dynamics, the fund adjusted its methodology in 2023 to better account for ESG considerations in index construction without altering core tracking objectives. No major acquisitions, funding rounds, or name changes have occurred for the ETF itself in the last two years, though parent State Street Global Advisors expanded its ETF suite through strategic alliances with index providers like ICE Data Indices.