BTI vs XLP: Correlation
How closely do British American Tobacco Industries, p.l.c. (BTI) and Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.45, which is moderate.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are BTI and XLP?
Across a 3-year window, the weekly returns of BTI and XLP correlate at 0.45, moderate. Little has changed lately, as the 1-year reading of 0.52 lands near the 3-year figure. Stretching to 5 years gives 0.45, with an annualized covariance of 112.8 %².
Few assets follow BTI as closely as XLP, which ranks #3 of 21 tracked partners. Neither side won the trailing year by much: +4.8% against +8.3%. Note the risk asymmetry: BTI runs 2.0 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.
BTI vs XLP: side by side
| BTI (British American Tobacco Industries, p.l.c.) | XLP (Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +4.8% | +8.3% |
| 5-year return | +119.4% | +34.7% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 22.5% | 11.1% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.06 | 0.23 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -15.3% | -9.7% |
| Market cap | $121.2B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 14.5 | – |
| Dividend yield | 4.27% | 2.58% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.08% |
| Assets under management | – | $14.6B |
| Sector / category | US Listed | Sector ETF |
On the fund side, XLP sits in the Consumer Defensive category at State Street Investment Management, with $14.6B under management, 35 holdings, a 0.08% expense ratio, a 2.58% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | BTI | XLP |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +15.1% | -0.8% |
| 2023 | -20.1% | -0.8% |
| 2024 | +35.4% | +12.2% |
| 2025 | +65.8% | +1.5% |
| 2026 | +2.2% | +10.9% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are BTI and XLP good diversifiers for each other?
Reasonably. At 0.45, BTI and XLP keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
FAQ
What is the correlation between BTI and XLP?
The BTI/XLP correlation stands at 0.45 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.52, 5 years: 0.45), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is XLP a good diversifier for BTI?
Reasonably. At 0.45, BTI and XLP keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
What does a correlation of 0.45 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.45 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/bti-vs-xlp.json
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[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/bti-vs-xlp/)
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Related comparisons
Hubs: BTI correlations · XLP correlations
