Comparative Analysis of HY Bonds With Other Exchange Traded Assets

This work is devoted to comparing the portfolio of high-yield bonds, compiled on the basis of the results of a cluster analysis of the financial characteristics of issuers, with market portfolios. The need to study this issue is due to the lack of a similar methodology for selecting bond issues, as well as the novelty of the long-term low rates of central banks in most of the developed countries. The study uses price data from 2018 to 2022 for 43 high-yield bonds issued by US companies. The results of the work demonstrate high rates of return to risk ratio for specially selected HY bond issues, exceeding most benchmarks. This is due to the fact that the selection of securities in the portfolio was made on the basis of the quality of the issuer, as well as the low probability of default by the issuer due to the availability of funds in the market.