BKT vs BND: Correlation
How closely do BlackRock Income Trust Inc. (The) (BKT) and Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.76, which is strong.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are BKT and BND?
Over the past 3 years, BKT and BND moved with a correlation of 0.76, which is strong. Little has changed lately, as the 1-year reading of 0.70 lands near the 3-year figure. Over 5 years the correlation is 0.71, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 38.3 %².
Few assets follow BKT as closely as BND, which ranks #2 of 16 tracked partners. On 12-month performance BND holds a 5.6-point edge, -3.3% against +2.3%. One caveat on sizing: BKT is 1.9 times as volatile as the other leg, so an equal-dollar split is far from equal-risk.
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.
BKT vs BND: side by side
| BKT (BlackRock Income Trust Inc. (The)) | BND (Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | -3.3% | +2.3% |
| 5-year return | -16.5% | -1.3% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 9.7% | 5.2% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.19 | 0.06 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -10.4% | -4.7% |
| Market cap | $0.3B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 11.0 | – |
| Dividend yield | 10.17% | – |
| Sector / category | US Listed | ETF · Bonds |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | BKT | BND |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -21.6% | -13.1% |
| 2023 | +7.6% | +5.7% |
| 2024 | +3.2% | +1.4% |
| 2025 | +5.0% | +7.1% |
| 2026 | +0.0% | +0.2% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are BKT and BND good diversifiers for each other?
To a limited degree. At 0.76 the two still catch most of the same waves, so the pair smooths returns a little without insulating either from a shared selloff.
FAQ
What is the correlation between BKT and BND?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.76 over 3 years, with 0.70 over the last year and 0.71 over 5 years.
Is BND a good diversifier for BKT?
To a limited degree. At 0.76 the two still catch most of the same waves, so the pair smooths returns a little without insulating either from a shared selloff.
What does a correlation of 0.76 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/bkt-vs-bnd.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/bkt-vs-bnd/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: BKT correlations · BND correlations
