AGG vs NAD: Correlation
How closely do iShares Core US Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) and Nuveen Quality Municipal Income Fund (NAD) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.73, which is strong.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are AGG and NAD?
Across a 3-year window, the weekly returns of AGG and NAD correlate at 0.73, strong. Recent behaviour matches the longer record: 0.63 over 1 year against 0.73 over 3. Stretching to 5 years gives 0.62, with an annualized covariance of 42.9 %².
Within AGG's tracked universe of 34 assets, NAD comes in at #10 by 3-year correlation. On 12-month performance NAD holds a 9.8-point edge, +2.3% against +12.1%. Note the risk asymmetry: NAD runs 2.1 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.
AGG vs NAD: side by side
| AGG (iShares Core US Aggregate Bond ETF) | NAD (Nuveen Quality Municipal Income Fund) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +2.3% | +12.1% |
| 5-year return | -1.1% | -2.4% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 5.3% | 11.0% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.07 | 0.27 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -4.8% | -11.7% |
| Market cap | – | $2.7B |
| P/E (trailing) | – | 14.9 |
| Dividend yield | 4.05% | 7.38% |
| Expense ratio | 0.03% | – |
| Assets under management | $137.1B | – |
| Sector / category | ETF · Bonds | US Listed |
On the fund side, AGG sits in the Intermediate Core Bond category at iShares, with $137.1B under management, a 0.03% expense ratio, a 4.05% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | AGG | NAD |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -13.0% | -22.8% |
| 2023 | +5.7% | +1.3% |
| 2024 | +1.3% | +8.8% |
| 2025 | +7.2% | +11.4% |
| 2026 | +0.3% | +2.5% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are AGG and NAD good diversifiers for each other?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.73 means AGG and NAD 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 AGG and NAD?
The AGG/NAD correlation stands at 0.73 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.63, 5 years: 0.62), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is NAD a good diversifier for AGG?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.73 means AGG and NAD share most of their swings. Pairing them dampens volatility somewhat, but it will not protect against a common drawdown.
What does a correlation of 0.73 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.73 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/agg-vs-nad.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/agg-vs-nad/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: AGG correlations · NAD correlations
