What if you'd held HYG?
Distributions not counted. This fund pays most of its return as distributions, so a price-only figure can show a loss its holders did not have.
HYG is a bond fund: most of what it returns arrives as interest it pays out to holders. Every figure on this page follows the share price alone and leaves those payments out, so it understates what holders received.
A $1,000 investment in iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) at the month-end close of 2016-12 would be worth $888 at the close on 2026-10-16: a -11.2% price return. Through September 2026, the latest month the fund has reported, the same $1,000 became $892 in HYG and $3,999 in an S&P 500 index fund (TSP C Fund). The fund figure includes reinvested dividends; the stock figure does not, so the comparison favors the fund.
Your scenario
Result
Price only: this fund’s distributions are not counted, so this figure can show a loss its holders did not have.
If you'd bought $1,000 at the start of each year
Value of $1,000 invested on January 1 of each year and held to the latest close.
Every year, $1,000 from 2016
| Year | Value of $1,000 | Year return |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | $1,000 | — |
| 2017 | $1,008 | +0.8% |
| 2018 | $937 | -7.0% |
| 2019 | $1,016 | +8.4% |
| 2020 | $1,008 | -0.7% |
| 2021 | $1,005 | -0.3% |
| 2022 | $851 | -15.4% |
| 2023 | $894 | +5.1% |
| 2024 | $909 | +1.6% |
| 2025 | $931 | +2.5% |
| 2026 | $888 | -4.7% |
Best and worst month to buy
The best month to have bought HYG was 2022-09, at a close of $71.40: $1,000 then is $1,077 today. The worst was 2017-07, at $88.90: $1,000 then is $865.
FAQ
What would $1,000 in HYG be worth today?
About $888 at the latest close, a price return of -11.2%. That is $1,000 put into HYG at the 2016-12 month-end close, the first in this price history.
What were the best and worst years for HYG?
HYG's best calendar year since 2016 was 2019, with a +8.4% return: $1,000 invested at the start of that year became about $1,084. Its worst year was 2022, at -15.4%.
Does the calculator include dividends and splits?
Splits only. Price return: adjusted for stock splits, dividends not included. Prices are split-adjusted automatically; a ticker whose history we could not adjust with confidence starts later or is not shown.
How much would $100 per month in HYG have grown?
To about $11,161 from $11,900 invested, putting in $100 at every monthly close since 2016-12.
Did HYG beat the S&P 500?
No. From the December 2016 month-end through September 2026, HYG trailed an S&P 500 index fund by 77.7%: $1,000 in the fund (the TSP C Fund, dividends included) became $3,999, and $1,000 in HYG (price only) became $892. The fund's monthly returns are published at tsp.gov.
Is this investment advice?
No. Wall Street Regrets is an entertainment and education tool. Every number here is a historical calculation, and past performance never guarantees future results.
Methodology
The figures on this page use HYG's historical price data from 2016-12 to 2026-10. The tables and the calculator above use month-end closes.
Prices come from IEX Historical Data. A "year" scenario invests $1,000 at the prior December's month-end close and values it at the latest close. Amounts in other currencies are converted at month-end exchange rates published by the European Central Bank and, for earlier years, the Federal Reserve: into US dollars at the buy date's rate and back at the sell date's rate, so the return includes the currency move.
Prices are the last regular-session trade on IEX (Investors Exchange) each day, which can differ slightly from the official close. Month-end closes miss the highs and lows inside a month. Figures ignore taxes, fees and the currency effects of non-USD listings.
What if you'd held…
Prices as of the last IEX trade on 2026-10-16. Data delayed end-of-day.