BLW vs SPY: Correlation
How closely do Blackrock Limited Duration Income Trust (BLW) and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.56, which is moderate.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are BLW and SPY?
On 3 years of weekly data the BLW/SPY correlation comes out at 0.56, moderate. Little has changed lately, as the 1-year reading of 0.59 lands near the 3-year figure. The 5-year figure is 0.63, and annualized covariance runs at 80.2 %².
Within BLW's tracked universe of 17 assets, SPY comes in at #11 by 3-year correlation. Correlation aside, the last 12 months split them widely, with SPY ahead by 20.8 points (-0.2% versus +20.6%).
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.
BLW vs SPY: side by side
| BLW (Blackrock Limited Duration Income Trust) | SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | -0.2% | +20.6% |
| 5-year return | +16.7% | +82.4% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 9.8% | 14.5% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.38 | 1.00 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -11.2% | -18.8% |
| Market cap | $0.5B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 10.4 | – |
| Dividend yield | 10.69% | 1.01% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.09% |
| Assets under management | – | $795.3B |
| Sector / category | US Listed | ETF · US Large Cap |
SPY is a Large Blend fund from State Street Investment Management: $795.3B under management, 504 holdings, a 0.09% expense ratio, a 1.01% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | BLW | SPY |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -15.9% | -18.2% |
| 2023 | +17.3% | +26.2% |
| 2024 | +11.1% | +24.9% |
| 2025 | +7.1% | +17.7% |
| 2026 | -0.8% | +13.7% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are BLW and SPY good diversifiers for each other?
To a limited degree. At 0.56 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 BLW and SPY?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.56 over 3 years, with 0.59 over the last year and 0.63 over 5 years.
Is SPY a good diversifier for BLW?
To a limited degree. At 0.56 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 0.56 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.56 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.
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Related comparisons
Hubs: BLW correlations · SPY correlations
