AFB vs BND: Correlation
How closely do AllianceBernstein National Municipal Income Fund Inc (AFB) and Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.70, which is strong.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are AFB and BND?
Over the past 3 years, AFB and BND moved with a correlation of 0.70, which is strong. The link has loosened recently: the 1-year correlation (0.54) runs below the 3-year figure (0.70). Over 5 years the correlation is 0.59, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 45.6 %².
By 3-year correlation, BND places #13 of the 24 assets tracked against AFB. The trailing year gives AFB the advantage: +10.5% versus +2.3%, a 8.2-point spread. Note the risk asymmetry: AFB runs 2.4 times the annualized volatility of the other leg, so equal-weighting the two is not an equal-risk position.
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.
AFB vs BND: side by side
| AFB (AllianceBernstein National Municipal Income Fund Inc) | BND (Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +10.5% | +2.3% |
| 5-year return | -9.9% | -1.3% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 12.6% | 5.2% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.26 | 0.06 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -15.1% | -4.7% |
| Market cap | – | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 13.6 | – |
| Dividend yield | 4.97% | – |
| Sector / category | US Listed | ETF · Bonds |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | AFB | BND |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -25.9% | -13.1% |
| 2023 | +7.5% | +5.7% |
| 2024 | +4.1% | +1.4% |
| 2025 | +4.4% | +7.1% |
| 2026 | +4.6% | +0.2% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are AFB and BND good diversifiers for each other?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.70 means AFB and BND share most of their swings. Pairing them dampens volatility somewhat, but it will not protect against a common drawdown.
FAQ
What is the correlation between AFB and BND?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.70 over 3 years, with 0.54 over the last year and 0.59 over 5 years.
Is BND a good diversifier for AFB?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.70 means AFB and BND share most of their swings. Pairing them dampens volatility somewhat, but it will not protect against a common drawdown.
What does a correlation of 0.70 mean?
Correlation ranges from −1 to +1. Values near +1 mean two assets move together, near 0 that they move independently, and negative values that they tend to move in opposite directions. It measures co-movement, not performance.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/afb-vs-bnd.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/afb-vs-bnd/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: AFB correlations · BND correlations
