BBN vs LQD: Correlation
BlackRock Taxable Municipal Bond Trust (BBN) and iShares iBoxx Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD) show a strong relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.70.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are BBN and LQD?
On 3 years of weekly data the BBN/LQD correlation comes out at 0.70, strong. Lately the two have drifted apart, with the 1-year correlation at 0.58 versus 0.70 over 3 years. The 5-year figure is 0.68, and annualized covariance runs at 62.3 %².
Within BBN's tracked universe of 18 assets, LQD comes in at #10 by 3-year correlation. Twelve-month performance is nearly a tie, at +4.4% for BBN and +1.5% for LQD. Risk is not evenly split, since BBN carries 1.7 times the volatility of the other side.
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.
BBN vs LQD: side by side
| BBN (BlackRock Taxable Municipal Bond Trust) | LQD (iShares iBoxx Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +4.4% | +1.5% |
| 5-year return | -14.4% | -4.1% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 12.3% | 7.3% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.26 | 0.15 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -11.8% | -6.7% |
| Market cap | $1.0B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 12.5 | – |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | 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 | BBN | LQD |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -31.0% | -17.9% |
| 2023 | +3.6% | +9.4% |
| 2024 | +6.0% | +0.9% |
| 2025 | +8.6% | +7.9% |
| 2026 | +2.3% | -0.5% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are BBN and LQD good diversifiers for each other?
Somewhat, no more. With 0.70 correlation, most large moves hit both names, and the diversification benefit stays modest.
FAQ
What is the correlation between BBN and LQD?
The BBN/LQD correlation stands at 0.70 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.58, 5 years: 0.68), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is LQD a good diversifier for BBN?
Somewhat, no more. With 0.70 correlation, most large moves hit both names, and the diversification benefit stays modest.
What does a correlation of 0.70 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.70 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/bbn-vs-lqd.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/bbn-vs-lqd/)
The core API is free. Terms and every endpoint in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: BBN correlations · LQD correlations
