BNY vs XLF: Correlation
How closely do BNY Mellon (BNY) and Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) 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 BNY and XLF?
Across a 3-year window, the weekly returns of BNY and XLF correlate at 0.76, strong. Little has changed lately, as the 1-year reading of 0.73 lands near the 3-year figure. Stretching to 5 years gives 0.80, with an annualized covariance of 249.4 %².
XLF is one of the assets that tracks BNY most closely: it ranks #1 out of the 31 assets we track against BNY. Their recent paths diverged sharply: over the last 12 months BNY outperformed by 47.9 percentage points (+57.2% for BNY against +9.3% for XLF). Stability stands out here, with the rolling one-year correlation confined to 0.67 through 0.85.
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.
BNY vs XLF: side by side
| BNY (BNY Mellon) | XLF (Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +57.2% | +9.3% |
| 5-year return | +236.7% | +64.2% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 20.2% | 16.2% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.89 | 0.84 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -17.6% | -15.5% |
| Market cap | $110.1B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 19.0 | – |
| Dividend yield | 1.30% | 1.42% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.08% |
| Assets under management | – | $57.9B |
| Sector / category | Financials | Sector ETF |
XLF is a Financial fund from State Street Investment Management: $57.9B under management, 77 holdings, a 0.08% expense ratio, a 1.42% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | BNY | XLF |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -19.1% | -10.6% |
| 2023 | +18.5% | +12.0% |
| 2024 | +51.9% | +30.6% |
| 2025 | +54.4% | +14.9% |
| 2026 | +41.5% | +6.6% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Fund exposure
A structural note: 1.36% of XLF is BNY itself, so the fund partly moves with the stock by construction.
Are BNY and XLF good diversifiers for each other?
Somewhat, no more. With 0.76 correlation, most large moves hit both names, and the diversification benefit stays modest.
FAQ
What is the correlation between BNY and XLF?
The BNY/XLF correlation stands at 0.76 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.73, 5 years: 0.80), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is XLF a good diversifier for BNY?
Somewhat, no more. With 0.76 correlation, most large moves hit both names, and the diversification benefit stays modest.
What does a correlation of 0.76 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.76 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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Hubs: BNY correlations · XLF correlations