High Yield Spotlight

I think it’s safe to say that the financial markets have changed considerably over the past week. The junk bond market hasn’t reacted quite as negatively as one might expect given the change in spreads. The PGIM High Yield Bond Fund (ISD) has a comparatively more conservative portfolio, which could be of some benefit here, but it’s the characteristics of how closed-end funds typically trade in these environments that might provide the better opportunity.

This week, I’m going to do something a little different. As I was scrolling through my news feed, I noticed that the abrdn Japan Equity Fund (JEQ) announced a proposed merger with the abrdn Global Infrastructure Income Fund (ASGI). This week, let’s dive into the world of fund mergers. We’ll examine why it’s happening and what it means for existing & potential shareholders.

The high yield market has shown signs of bending, but it has yet to break. It makes some sense to at least mitigate some credit risk if entering the junk bond market right now. The BlackRock Corporate High Yield Fund (HYT) does some of that through credit risk and yield analysis to uncover attractive opportunities. But is it the right fit in the current marketplace?