BKT vs TLT: Correlation
BlackRock Income Trust Inc. (The) (BKT) and iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) show a strong relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.71.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are BKT and TLT?
Across a 3-year window, the weekly returns of BKT and TLT correlate at 0.71, strong. Recent behaviour matches the longer record: 0.61 over 1 year against 0.71 over 3. Stretching to 5 years gives 0.60, with an annualized covariance of 92.9 %².
Within BKT's tracked universe of 16 assets, TLT comes in at #8 by 3-year correlation. Neither side won the trailing year by much: -3.3% against +0.3%.
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 TLT: side by side
| BKT (BlackRock Income Trust Inc. (The)) | TLT (iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | -3.3% | +0.3% |
| 5-year return | -16.5% | -34.0% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 9.7% | 13.5% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.19 | 0.11 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -10.4% | -14.8% |
| Market cap | $0.3B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 11.0 | – |
| Dividend yield | 10.17% | 4.75% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.15% |
| Assets under management | – | $41.5B |
| Sector / category | US Listed | ETF · Bonds |
On the fund side, TLT sits in the Long Government category at iShares, with $41.5B under management, a 0.15% expense ratio, a 4.75% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | BKT | TLT |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -21.6% | -31.2% |
| 2023 | +7.6% | +2.8% |
| 2024 | +3.2% | -8.1% |
| 2025 | +5.0% | +4.2% |
| 2026 | +0.0% | -2.1% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are BKT and TLT good diversifiers for each other?
Somewhat, no more. With 0.71 correlation, most large moves hit both names, and the diversification benefit stays modest.
FAQ
What is the correlation between BKT and TLT?
The BKT/TLT correlation stands at 0.71 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.61, 5 years: 0.60), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is TLT a good diversifier for BKT?
Somewhat, no more. With 0.71 correlation, most large moves hit both names, and the diversification benefit stays modest.
What does a correlation of 0.71 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.71 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-tlt.json
Markdown for the live badge, attribution link included:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/bkt-vs-tlt/)
The core API is free. Terms and every endpoint in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: BKT correlations · TLT correlations
