BND vs NAD: Correlation
How closely do Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) and Nuveen Quality Municipal Income Fund (NAD) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.73, which is strong.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are BND and NAD?
Over the past 3 years, BND and NAD moved with a correlation of 0.73, which is strong. The link has loosened recently: the 1-year correlation (0.61) runs below the 3-year figure (0.73). Over 5 years the correlation is 0.62, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 41.6 %².
Among the 33 assets we track against BND, NAD ranks #10 by 3-year correlation. Over the last 12 months NAD came out ahead by 9.8 percentage points (+2.3% against +12.1%). Note the risk asymmetry: NAD runs 2.1 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.
BND vs NAD: side by side
| BND (Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF) | NAD (Nuveen Quality Municipal Income Fund) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +2.3% | +12.1% |
| 5-year return | -1.3% | -2.4% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 5.2% | 11.0% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.06 | 0.27 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -4.7% | -11.7% |
| Market cap | – | $2.7B |
| P/E (trailing) | – | 14.9 |
| Dividend yield | – | 7.38% |
| Sector / category | ETF · Bonds | US Listed |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | BND | NAD |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -13.1% | -22.8% |
| 2023 | +5.7% | +1.3% |
| 2024 | +1.4% | +8.8% |
| 2025 | +7.1% | +11.4% |
| 2026 | +0.2% | +2.5% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are BND and NAD good diversifiers for each other?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.73 means BND and NAD 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 BND and NAD?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.73 over 3 years, with 0.61 over the last year and 0.62 over 5 years.
Is NAD a good diversifier for BND?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.73 means BND and NAD share most of their swings. Pairing them dampens volatility somewhat, but it will not protect against a common drawdown.
What does a correlation of 0.73 mean?
A reading of 0.73 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/bnd-vs-nad.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/bnd-vs-nad/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: BND correlations · NAD correlations
