The Invesco Global ex-US High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (PGHY) was launched on 06/20/2013, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the High-Yield/Junk Bond ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Because the fund has amassed over $201.3 million, this makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the High-Yield/Junk Bond ETFs. PGHY is managed by Invesco. PGHY, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the DB Global Short Maturity High Yield Bond Index.
The ICE USD Global High Yield Excluding US Issuers Constrained Index comprises of U.S. dollar denominated below investment grade corporate debt publicly issued in the U.S. domestic and eurobond markets by non-U.S. issuers.
Cost & Other Expenses
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.35% for PGHY, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 7.18%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Looking at individual holdings, Industrial & Commercial Bank Of China Ltd-3.20%-12-31-2079 (ICBCAS) accounts for about 1.4% of total assets, followed by Samarco Mineracao Sa-9.50%-06-30-2031 (SAMMIN) and Invesco Government & Agency Portfolio (AGPXX).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 6.73% of PGHY's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Invesco Global ex-US High Yield Corporate Bond ETF has gained about 0.87% so far, and it's up approximately 7.02% over the last 12 months (as of 02/06/2026). PGHY has traded between $18.92 $20.26 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.19 and standard deviation of 5.22% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 596 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Invesco Global ex-US High Yield Corporate Bond ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the High-Yield/Junk Bond ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) tracks Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index and the iShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (USHY) tracks BofA Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield Constrained Index. iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF has $17.64 billion in assets, iShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF has $25.79 billion. HYG has an expense ratio of 0.49% and USHY changes 0.08%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the High-Yield/Junk Bond ETFs
Bottom Line
To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.
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Invesco Global ex-US High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (PGHY): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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