What if you'd held YLD?
A $1,000 investment in Principal Active High Yield ETF (YLD) at the month-end close of 2015-07 would be worth $1,751 at the close of 2026-09 — +75.1% total return, dividends reinvested. The same $1,000 in the S&P 500, dividends reinvested, would be worth $4,436.
Your scenario
Result
If you'd bought $1,000 at the start of each year
Value of $1,000 invested on January 1 of each year, held to 2026-09, dividends included.
Every year, $1,000 from 2015
| Year | Value of $1,000 | Year return |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | $1,000 | — |
| 2016 | $1,138 | +13.8% |
| 2017 | $1,236 | +8.6% |
| 2018 | $1,200 | -2.9% |
| 2019 | $1,362 | +13.5% |
| 2020 | $1,383 | +1.5% |
| 2021 | $1,515 | +9.5% |
| 2022 | $1,381 | -8.8% |
| 2023 | $1,560 | +13.0% |
| 2024 | $1,704 | +9.2% |
| 2025 | $1,804 | +5.9% |
| 2026 | $1,850 | +2.5% |
Best and worst month-end to buy
The best single month-end close to have bought YLD was 2016-01 ($9.75): $1,000 then is $1,916 today. The worst was 2026-08 ($19.03): $1,000 then is $982.
FAQ
What would $1,000 in YLD be worth today?
A $1,000 investment in Principal Active High Yield ETF (YLD) at the start of 2015 would be worth about $1,751 today, a total return of +75.1%. Dividends are reinvested in these figures.
What were the best and worst years for YLD?
Principal Active High Yield ETF (YLD)'s strongest calendar year since 2015 was 2016, a +13.8% return — $1,000 held through that year became about $1,138 by year-end. Its weakest year was 2022, at -8.8%.
Does the calculator include dividends and splits?
Yes where available. Prices are adjusted for both stock splits and reinvested dividends (total return), the same measure brokerages use.
How much would $100 per month in YLD have grown?
Investing $100 at the end of every month since 2015-07 would have grown to about $18,422 on $13,500 invested.
Did YLD beat the S&P 500?
Over the same period, $1,000 in the S&P 500 with dividends reinvested (the S&P 500 Total Return index) would be worth $4,436. YLD trailed the S&P 500 by +60.5% in total return.
Is this investment advice?
No. Wall Street Regrets is an entertainment and education tool. Every number is a historical calculation, not a prediction, and past performance never guarantees future results.
Methodology
Principal Active High Yield ETF (YLD) historical total-return data from 2015-07 to 2026-09, reduced to month-end closes for the tables above.
Returns use adjusted close prices — adjusted for stock splits and reinvested dividends, the same convention used by major brokerages. End-of-day and live prices come from EODHD; parts of the deep historical series are carried over from Yahoo Finance data. A "year" scenario invests $1,000 at the prior December's month-end close and values it at the latest available month-end close. Non-USD amounts are converted at historical month-end exchange rates (EODHD): to USD on the buy date and back to your currency at the latest rate, so the return reflects the currency move as well as the asset.
Month-end resolution means intra-month extremes are not captured in tables; the calculator uses exact trading-day closes where daily data is available. Figures ignore taxes, fees, and the currency effects of non-USD listings. History is not a forecast. Wall Street Regrets is entertainment, not investment advice.
What if you'd held…
Data: adjusted close prices via EODHD and Yahoo Finance. As of 2026-09-23. Not financial advice.