BKT vs LQD: Correlation
BlackRock Income Trust Inc. (The) (BKT) and iShares iBoxx Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD) show a strong relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.75.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are BKT and LQD?
Across a 3-year window, the weekly returns of BKT and LQD correlate at 0.75, strong. The link has loosened recently: the 1-year correlation (0.62) runs below the 3-year figure (0.75). Stretching to 5 years gives 0.69, with an annualized covariance of 52.9 %².
Few assets follow BKT as closely as LQD, which ranks #3 of 16 tracked partners. Their 12-month results are close: -3.3% for BKT against +1.5% for LQD.
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 LQD: side by side
| BKT (BlackRock Income Trust Inc. (The)) | LQD (iShares iBoxx Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | -3.3% | +1.5% |
| 5-year return | -16.5% | -4.1% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 9.7% | 7.3% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.19 | 0.15 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -10.4% | -6.7% |
| Market cap | $0.3B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 11.0 | – |
| Dividend yield | 10.17% | 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 | BKT | LQD |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -21.6% | -17.9% |
| 2023 | +7.6% | +9.4% |
| 2024 | +3.2% | +0.9% |
| 2025 | +5.0% | +7.9% |
| 2026 | +0.0% | -0.5% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are BKT and LQD good diversifiers for each other?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.75 means BKT 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 BKT and LQD?
The BKT/LQD correlation stands at 0.75 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.62, 5 years: 0.69), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is LQD a good diversifier for BKT?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.75 means BKT 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 0.75 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.75 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/bkt-vs-lqd.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/bkt-vs-lqd/)
The core API is free. Terms and every endpoint in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: BKT correlations · LQD correlations
