PowerShares Changes Index For Corporate Bond ETF

ETF issuer PowerShares said it will shift the index the PowerShares High Yield Corporate Bond ETF PHB to the RAFI High Yield Bond Index, making PHB the first fixed-income ETF to use Research Affiliates’ Fundamental Index methodology. PHB formerly tracked the Wells Fargo High-Yield Bond Index. The change is taking place today. “By weighting companies based on fundamental measures of their resources available to service debt, we believe the PowerShares Fundamental High Yield Corporate Bond Portfolio represents a compelling alternative to market-cap-weighted fixed-income portfolios and provides investors the potential for improved risk-adjusted returns,” Ben Fulton, Invesco PowerShares managing director of global ETFs, said in a statement. PHB will invest about 80% of its assets in in high-yield bonds that comprise the RAFI High Yield Bond Index. The index is rebalanced monthly.