BIT vs PFL: Correlation
How closely do BlackRock Multi-Sector Income Trust (BIT) and PIMCO Income Strategy Fund Shares of Beneficial Interest (PFL) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.69, which is strong.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are BIT and PFL?
Over the past 3 years, BIT and PFL moved with a correlation of 0.69, which is strong. Little has changed lately, as the 1-year reading of 0.73 lands near the 3-year figure. Over 5 years the correlation is 0.71, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 86.7 %².
By 3-year correlation, PFL places #5 of the 11 assets tracked against BIT. Their 12-month results are close: -2.3% for BIT against +1.1% for PFL.
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.
BIT vs PFL: side by side
| BIT (BlackRock Multi-Sector Income Trust) | PFL (PIMCO Income Strategy Fund Shares of Beneficial Interest) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | -2.3% | +1.1% |
| 5-year return | +5.8% | +1.9% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 10.5% | 12.0% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.42 | 0.39 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -11.6% | -11.1% |
| Market cap | $0.7B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 11.3 | 9.6 |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | 12.86% |
| Sector / category | US Listed | US Listed |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | BIT | PFL |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -14.6% | -18.0% |
| 2023 | +16.5% | +17.2% |
| 2024 | +7.2% | +11.4% |
| 2025 | -0.7% | +13.0% |
| 2026 | -1.1% | -2.2% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are BIT and PFL good diversifiers for each other?
Somewhat, no more. With 0.69 correlation, most large moves hit both names, and the diversification benefit stays modest.
FAQ
What is the correlation between BIT and PFL?
The BIT/PFL correlation stands at 0.69 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.73, 5 years: 0.71), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is PFL a good diversifier for BIT?
Somewhat, no more. With 0.69 correlation, most large moves hit both names, and the diversification benefit stays modest.
What does a correlation of 0.69 mean?
A reading of 0.69 sits on a scale from −1 (opposite moves) through 0 (unrelated) to +1 (identical moves). Correlation captures direction, not magnitude or performance.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/bit-vs-pfl.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/bit-vs-pfl/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: BIT correlations · PFL correlations
