BMEZ vs IBB: Correlation
How closely do BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust (BMEZ) and iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) 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 BMEZ and IBB?
On 3 years of weekly data the BMEZ/IBB correlation comes out at 0.76, strong. Little has changed lately, as the 1-year reading of 0.86 lands near the 3-year figure. The 5-year figure is 0.74, and annualized covariance runs at 259.7 %².
IBB is one of the assets that tracks BMEZ most closely: it ranks #1 out of the 23 assets we track against BMEZ. The last year tells two different stories: IBB led by 24.0 percentage points, +31.4% for BMEZ against +55.4% for IBB.
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.
BMEZ vs IBB: side by side
| BMEZ (BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust) | IBB (iShares Biotechnology ETF) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +31.4% | +55.4% |
| 5-year return | +0.9% | +26.6% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 16.5% | 20.7% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.63 | 0.81 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -18.3% | -24.9% |
| Market cap | $1.1B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 6.7 | – |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | 0.22% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.44% |
| Assets under management | – | $9.2B |
| Sector / category | US Listed | ETF · Thematic |
IBB, iShares's Health fund, carries $9.2B under management, 235 holdings, a 0.44% expense ratio, a 0.22% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | BMEZ | IBB |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -32.7% | -13.7% |
| 2023 | +5.1% | +3.8% |
| 2024 | +9.5% | -2.4% |
| 2025 | +18.7% | +28.0% |
| 2026 | +20.6% | +27.4% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are BMEZ and IBB 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 BMEZ and IBB?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.76 over 3 years, with 0.86 over the last year and 0.74 over 5 years.
Is IBB a good diversifier for BMEZ?
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?
A reading of 0.76 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/bmez-vs-ibb.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/bmez-vs-ibb/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: BMEZ correlations · IBB correlations
