ACWI vs FFA: Correlation
iShares MSCI ACWI ETF (ACWI) and First Trust Enhanced Equity Income Fund (FFA) show a very strong relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.89.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are ACWI and FFA?
Over the past 3 years, ACWI and FFA moved with a correlation of 0.89, which is very strong, meaning they move nearly in lockstep. Recent behaviour matches the longer record: 0.86 over 1 year against 0.89 over 3. Over 5 years the correlation is 0.90, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 183.3 %².
Within ACWI's tracked universe of 119 assets, FFA comes in at #16 by 3-year correlation. On 12-month performance ACWI holds a 5.4-point edge, +22.7% against +17.3%.
How is this computed?
Pearson correlation on weekly returns: ρ(A,B) = cov(rA, rB) / (σA · σB), over windows of 52, 156 and 260 weeks. Covariance is annualized (×52) and expressed in %². Full definitions on the methodology page.
ACWI vs FFA: side by side
| ACWI (iShares MSCI ACWI ETF) | FFA (First Trust Enhanced Equity Income Fund) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +22.7% | +17.3% |
| 5-year return | +69.0% | +54.8% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 13.8% | 14.9% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.92 | 0.93 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -16.5% | -19.9% |
| Market cap | – | $0.5B |
| P/E (trailing) | – | 5.7 |
| Dividend yield | 1.44% | 6.39% |
| Expense ratio | 0.32% | – |
| Assets under management | $32.5B | – |
| Sector / category | ETF · Global | US Listed |
On the fund side, ACWI sits in the Global Large-Stock Blend category at iShares, with $32.5B under management, 1590 holdings, a 0.32% expense ratio, a 1.44% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | ACWI | FFA |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -18.4% | -20.3% |
| 2023 | +22.3% | +24.7% |
| 2024 | +17.4% | +21.5% |
| 2025 | +22.4% | +14.2% |
| 2026 | +14.9% | +8.9% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are ACWI and FFA good diversifiers for each other?
No: a correlation of 0.89 means ACWI and FFA tend to fall together, which is precisely when diversification is supposed to help.
FAQ
What is the correlation between ACWI and FFA?
The ACWI/FFA correlation stands at 0.89 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.86, 5 years: 0.90), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is FFA a good diversifier for ACWI?
No: a correlation of 0.89 means ACWI and FFA tend to fall together, which is precisely when diversification is supposed to help.
What does a correlation of 0.89 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.89 describes how much the two returns move together: +1 is lockstep, 0 is independence, negative values mean opposite directions. It says nothing about which performed better.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/acwi-vs-ffa.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/acwi-vs-ffa/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: ACWI correlations · FFA correlations
