A spate of new funds focused on high yield debt have hit the ETF market in recent months at a time when riskier corporate bonds are at a crossroads. The latest fund to join the race is the BlackRock High Yield ETF , which debuted Tuesday. The managers for the fund also helm the BlackRock High Yield mutual fund, which has a four-star rating from Morningstar and a yield of roughly 6.5%. "This is a substantially similar ETF.
Michael Schlembach, managing director and senior portfolio manager for Marathon Asset Management, compared high yield borrowers to U.S. consumers who had long-term debt, like mortgages, that were locked in at low rates from before the Fed's rate hike cycle and are just now starting to borrow again.