CASH vs SPY: Correlation
Pathward Financial, Inc. (CASH) and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) show a moderate relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.41.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are CASH and SPY?
Across a 3-year window, the weekly returns of CASH and SPY correlate at 0.41, moderate. The past 12 months show a weaker link (0.16) than the 3-year average (0.41). Stretching to 5 years gives 0.45, with an annualized covariance of 175.2 %².
Among the 12 assets we track against CASH, SPY sits near the bottom by co-movement, at rank #8. The last year tells two different stories: SPY led by 18.5 percentage points, +2.1% for CASH against +20.6% for SPY. Note the risk asymmetry: CASH 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.
CASH vs SPY: side by side
| CASH (Pathward Financial, Inc.) | SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +2.1% | +20.6% |
| 5-year return | +71.2% | +82.4% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 29.4% | 14.5% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.84 | 1.00 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -22.2% | -18.8% |
| Market cap | $1.7B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 10.3 | – |
| Dividend yield | 0.24% | 1.01% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.09% |
| Assets under management | – | $795.3B |
| Sector / category | US Listed | 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 | CASH | SPY |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -27.5% | -18.2% |
| 2023 | +23.4% | +26.2% |
| 2024 | +39.5% | +24.9% |
| 2025 | -3.2% | +17.7% |
| 2026 | +15.0% | +13.7% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are CASH and SPY good diversifiers for each other?
Yes, to a useful degree: a correlation of 0.41 leaves real independence between the two, which historically damped combined volatility.
FAQ
What is the correlation between CASH and SPY?
As of 2026-08-27, the correlation of weekly returns between CASH and SPY is 0.41 over 3 years, 0.16 over 1 year and 0.45 over 5 years.
Is SPY a good diversifier for CASH?
Yes, to a useful degree: a correlation of 0.41 leaves real independence between the two, which historically damped combined volatility.
What does a correlation of 0.41 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.41 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/cash-vs-spy.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/cash-vs-spy/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: CASH correlations · SPY correlations
