BRK.B vs SPY: Correlation
Measured on weekly returns over the past three years, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) carry a correlation of 0.39, a moderate link.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are BRK.B and SPY?
On 3 years of weekly data the BRK.B/SPY correlation comes out at 0.39, moderate. Lately the two have drifted apart, with the 1-year correlation at 0.15 versus 0.39 over 3 years. The 5-year figure is 0.58, and annualized covariance runs at 90.7 %².
Within BRK.B's tracked universe of 31 assets, SPY comes in at #19 by 3-year correlation. Correlation aside, the last 12 months split them widely, with SPY ahead by 19.0 points (+1.6% versus +20.6%). The relationship is regime-dependent: the rolling one-year correlation swung between 0.11 and 0.75 over the past three years, so this pair behaves very differently depending on the market environment.
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.
BRK.B vs SPY: side by side
| BRK.B (Berkshire Hathaway) | SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +1.6% | +20.6% |
| 5-year return | +76.3% | +82.4% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 15.9% | 14.5% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.43 | 1.00 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -14.9% | -18.8% |
| Market cap | $1,078.3B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 12.7 | – |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | 1.01% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.09% |
| Assets under management | – | $795.3B |
| Sector / category | Financials | 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 | BRK.B | SPY |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +3.3% | -18.2% |
| 2023 | +15.5% | +26.2% |
| 2024 | +27.1% | +24.9% |
| 2025 | +10.9% | +17.7% |
| 2026 | +0.2% | +13.7% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Fund exposure
A structural note: 1.4% of SPY is BRK.B itself, so the fund partly moves with the stock by construction.
Are BRK.B and SPY good diversifiers for each other?
Yes, to a useful degree: a correlation of 0.39 leaves real independence between the two, which historically damped combined volatility.
FAQ
What is the correlation between BRK.B and SPY?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.39 over 3 years, with 0.15 over the last year and 0.58 over 5 years.
Is SPY a good diversifier for BRK.B?
Yes, to a useful degree: a correlation of 0.39 leaves real independence between the two, which historically damped combined volatility.
What does a correlation of 0.39 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.39 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/brk-b-vs-spy.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/brk-b-vs-spy/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: BRK.B correlations · SPY correlations
