BMEZ vs XBI: Correlation
BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust (BMEZ) and SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) show a strong relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.73.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are BMEZ and XBI?
On 3 years of weekly data the BMEZ/XBI correlation comes out at 0.73, strong. Little has changed lately, as the 1-year reading of 0.78 lands near the 3-year figure. The 5-year figure is 0.72, and annualized covariance runs at 334.7 %².
In BMEZ's tracked universe of 23 assets, XBI sits right near the top at #2. The last year tells two different stories: XBI led by 55.8 percentage points, +31.4% for BMEZ against +87.2% for XBI. Note the risk asymmetry: XBI runs 1.7 times the annualized volatility of the other leg, so equal-weighting the two is not an equal-risk position.
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 XBI: side by side
| BMEZ (BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust) | XBI (SPDR S&P Biotech ETF) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +31.4% | +87.2% |
| 5-year return | +0.9% | +28.6% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 16.5% | 27.7% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.63 | 1.09 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -18.3% | -33.0% |
| Market cap | $1.1B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 6.7 | – |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | – |
| Sector / category | US Listed | ETF · Thematic |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | BMEZ | XBI |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -32.7% | -25.9% |
| 2023 | +5.1% | +7.6% |
| 2024 | +9.5% | +1.0% |
| 2025 | +18.7% | +35.9% |
| 2026 | +20.6% | +38.1% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are BMEZ and XBI good diversifiers for each other?
To a limited degree. At 0.73 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 XBI?
The BMEZ/XBI correlation stands at 0.73 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.78, 5 years: 0.72), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is XBI a good diversifier for BMEZ?
To a limited degree. At 0.73 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 0.73 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.73 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/bmez-vs-xbi.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/bmez-vs-xbi/)
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Related comparisons
Hubs: BMEZ correlations · XBI correlations
