AFB vs LQD: Correlation
How closely do AllianceBernstein National Municipal Income Fund Inc (AFB) and iShares iBoxx Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.71, which is strong.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are AFB and LQD?
On 3 years of weekly data the AFB/LQD correlation comes out at 0.71, strong. The link has loosened recently: the 1-year correlation (0.52) runs below the 3-year figure (0.71). The 5-year figure is 0.62, and annualized covariance runs at 65.2 %².
Among the 24 assets we track against AFB, LQD ranks #11 by 3-year correlation. Over the last 12 months AFB came out ahead by 9.0 percentage points (+10.5% against +1.5%). Note the risk asymmetry: AFB runs 1.7 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 LQD: side by side
| AFB (AllianceBernstein National Municipal Income Fund Inc) | LQD (iShares iBoxx Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +10.5% | +1.5% |
| 5-year return | -9.9% | -4.1% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 12.6% | 7.3% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.26 | 0.15 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -15.1% | -6.7% |
| Market cap | – | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 13.6 | – |
| Dividend yield | 4.97% | 4.66% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.14% |
| Assets under management | – | $33.0B |
| Sector / category | US Listed | ETF · Bonds |
LQD, iShares's Corporate Bond fund, carries $33.0B under management, a 0.14% expense ratio, a 4.66% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | AFB | LQD |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -25.9% | -17.9% |
| 2023 | +7.5% | +9.4% |
| 2024 | +4.1% | +0.9% |
| 2025 | +4.4% | +7.9% |
| 2026 | +4.6% | -0.5% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are AFB and LQD good diversifiers for each other?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.71 means AFB and LQD 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 LQD?
The AFB/LQD correlation stands at 0.71 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.52, 5 years: 0.62), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is LQD a good diversifier for AFB?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.71 means AFB and LQD share most of their swings. Pairing them dampens volatility somewhat, but it will not protect against a common drawdown.
What does a correlation of 0.71 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.71 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/afb-vs-lqd.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/afb-vs-lqd/)
The core API is free. Terms and every endpoint in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: AFB correlations · LQD correlations
