HYLB vs FALN Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
HYLB provides broad market-weight exposure to the entire U.S. high-yield corporate bond market, while FALN targets the specific 'fallen angel' segment of recently downgraded bonds that may benefit from forced selling at downgrade. Both offer high-yield credit exposure but with different portfolio construction philosophies and risk-return profiles.
HYLB vs FALN contrasts passive broad high-yield market exposure against a factor-based strategy targeting fallen angel bonds — market-cap high yield versus a selective approach to the portion of high yield with the best ex-investment-grade pedigree.
HYLB holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. HYLB has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+2.39% vs +1.19% for FALN).
- Want broad, market-weight high-yield bond exposure across the entire non-investment-grade corporate bond universe
- Value DWS's competitive expense ratio for a core high-yield fixed income allocation
- Prefer straightforward market-cap weighted high-yield exposure without factor tilts or selective strategy
- Want to capture the documented fallen angel premium — the historical outperformance of recently downgraded bonds versus the broad high-yield market
- Value higher-quality former-investment-grade issuers as a way to access high-yield yields with potentially better credit fundamentals
- Are interested in a factor-based approach to high-yield that tilts away from born-junk issuers toward higher-pedigree fallen companies
| Metric | HYLB | FALN |
|---|---|---|
| ETF scorei | 39.0 | 33.0 |
| Latest closei | $35.51 | $26.21 |
| 1M returni | -2.03% | -2.74% |
| 6M returni | +1.94% | +2.51% |
| 1Y returni | +2.39% | +1.19% |
The ETF score weights long-term returns and risk-adjusted performance most heavily, but still rewards low expense ratios, larger fund size, and broader diversification — so it can favor low-cost, broad, mega-cap funds over smaller thematic or actively-managed funds even when the latter have delivered stronger returns.
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | HYLB | FALN |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $10.94K (+9.4%) started 2025-09-25 | $10.81K (+8.1%) started 2025-09-25 |
| 5Y ago | $16.74K (+67.4%) started 2021-09-27 | $15.99K (+59.9%) started 2021-09-27 |
| 10Y ago | $32.26K (+222.6%) started 2016-12-13 | $37.17K (+271.7%) started 2016-09-26 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | HYLB | FALN |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratioi | 0.05% | 0.25% |
| Total assets (AUM)i | $3.56B | $1.67B |
| Dividend yieldi | 6.51% | 6.52% |
| Trailing P/Ei | N/A | N/A |
| Betai | 0.43 | 0.44 |
| 52-week change | 2.39% | 1.19% |
| Metric | HYLB | FALN |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y returni | +2.39% | +1.19% |
| 6M returni | +1.94% | +2.51% |
| 1M returni | -2.03% | -2.74% |
| 1Y Sharpe ratio | -0.54 | -0.69 |
| Betai | 0.43 | 0.44 |
| Dividend yieldi | 6.51% | 6.52% |
| 5Y CAGR | +3.50% | +2.85% |
Over the past year, HYLB and FALN have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 0.93), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | HYLB | FALN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +2.39% | +1.19% |
| CAGRi | +2.39% | +1.19% | |
| Volatilityi | 3.80% | 4.67% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.54 | -0.69 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.73 | -0.91 | |
| Max drawdowni | 2.27% | 3.96% | |
| Current drawdowni | 2.06% | 2.83% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 0.38% | 0.69% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 0.62% | 1.07% | |
| Max daily dropi | 0.93% | 1.19% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 1.06% | 1.62% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +18.74% | +15.07% |
| CAGRi | +3.50% | +2.85% | |
| Volatilityi | 7.49% | 7.35% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.10 | -0.19 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.14 | -0.26 | |
| Max drawdowni | 15.54% | 18.78% | |
| Current drawdowni | 2.06% | 2.83% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 3.44% | 4.98% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 5.43% | 7.56% | |
| Max daily dropi | 3.67% | 3.34% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 6.82% | 6.61% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +53.42% | +73.98% |
| CAGRi | +4.47% | +5.70% | |
| Volatilityi | 8.08% | 8.79% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.03 | 0.16 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.04 | 0.22 | |
| Max drawdowni | 22.91% | 29.22% | |
| Current drawdowni | 2.06% | 2.83% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 2.37% | 3.32% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 4.36% | 5.91% | |
| Max daily dropi | 5.39% | 7.69% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 13.12% | 16.38% |
| Category | HYLB | FALN |
|---|---|---|
| Fund name | Xtrackers USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF | iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF |
| Type | ETF | ETF |
| Expense ratioi | 0.05% | 0.25% |
| Total assets (AUM)i | $3.56B | $1.67B |
| Dividend yieldi | 6.51% | 6.52% |
- Broad high-yield market coverage provides diversified exposure across the complete non-investment-grade bond universe
- DWS/Deutsche Bank management provides institutional credibility in fixed income indexing
- High-yield bonds offer significantly higher yields than investment-grade bonds, compensating for higher default risk
- Academic research suggests fallen angel bonds historically outperform the broad high-yield market on a risk-adjusted basis over time
- Fallen angels typically have better business characteristics than originally-issued high-yield bonds (born-junk companies) — they were once investment-grade for a reason
- Contrarian value hypothesis — forced selling by investment-grade mandated investors at downgrade creates temporary undervaluation
- High-yield bonds can experience significant price declines in economic downturns as default concerns rise and liquidity dries up
- Correlation to equities increases in risk-off environments — high-yield bonds tend to sell off alongside stocks in market stress
- Credit cycle management matters — rising defaults and credit spread widening hurt high-yield bond total returns
- Fallen angel supply is cyclical and depends on economic conditions — recessions produce many fallen angels as investment-grade companies are downgraded
- Higher average quality (more BB-rated) than broad high-yield means slightly lower yield in normal markets
- The historical outperformance of fallen angels is documented but may not persist as the strategy becomes more widely known and traded
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