Time To Buy Junk Bond ETFs?

January 5, 2016 by

new etfsBob Ciura:  Junk bonds, otherwise known as high-yield bonds, suffered mightily in 2015. The prospect of higher interest rates in the United States caused investors to flee from the junk bond market throughout the year.  In the last three months alone, more than $8 billion was taken out of nearly 200 junk bond funds, according to market tracking firm Lipper.

Investors hoping that 2016 will be a better year for junk bonds may be disappointed. The Federal Reserve has signaled its intention to keep raising interest rates as the U.S. economy continues to grow at a gradual pace. This presents a significant headwind that could continue to plague the junk bond market next year.

Still, for brave investors, the sell-off in junk bonds has created some attractive opportunities, as yields are higher than they have been in years.

Be Aware of the Risks

Bonds carry several unique risks that investors should be aware of – and junk bonds are riskier in particular. The two major risks that junk bonds face in 2016 are interest rate risk and default risk.

Interest rate risk is the risk that a bond will lose value when interest rates rise. The reason is that when interest rates rise, fixed-income securities see less demand. Lower-rate issues are less valuable than newer, higher-rate bonds. As a result, existing bonds are repriced, meaning they are usually sold, which then causes their yields to rise in order to keep pace with the higher interest rate environment.

Next, investors should be cautious of default risk: the risk of a bond issuer defaulting on its debt obligations. Junk bonds are below investment grade, meaning they are securities that have a higher default risk than investment grade bonds and government bonds.

Investors should know that junk bonds carry higher risks than most other corporate bonds or government bonds. As such, junk bond funds typically offer higher yields, to compensate investors for that extra risk.

Potential Buying Opportunities Amid Junk Bond Funds

Given the forward-looking risks facing junk bonds, only brave investors with a stomach for volatility should wade into these waters in 2016. But for investors who prefer to buy when others are afraid, there are some potential buying opportunities among major bond mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.

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