CET vs QUAL: Correlation
Central Securities Corporation (CET) and iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL) show a very strong relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.88.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are CET and QUAL?
Across a 3-year window, the weekly returns of CET and QUAL correlate at 0.88, very strong, meaning they move nearly in lockstep. Recent behaviour matches the longer record: 0.89 over 1 year against 0.88 over 3. Stretching to 5 years gives 0.85, with an annualized covariance of 157.1 %².
Among the 38 assets we track against CET, QUAL ranks #5 by 3-year correlation. Twelve-month performance is nearly a tie, at +15.7% for CET and +19.7% for QUAL.
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.
CET vs QUAL: side by side
| CET (Central Securities Corporation) | QUAL (iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +15.7% | +19.7% |
| 5-year return | +73.3% | +68.0% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 12.8% | 14.0% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.78 | 0.93 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -15.4% | -18.0% |
| Market cap | – | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 7.3 | – |
| Dividend yield | 5.03% | 0.86% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.15% |
| Assets under management | – | $46.5B |
| Sector / category | US Listed | ETF · US Style |
QUAL, iShares's Large Blend fund, carries $46.5B under management, 123 holdings, a 0.15% expense ratio, a 0.86% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | CET | QUAL |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -19.7% | -20.5% |
| 2023 | +19.2% | +30.9% |
| 2024 | +26.8% | +22.3% |
| 2025 | +17.2% | +12.7% |
| 2026 | +8.3% | +13.5% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are CET and QUAL good diversifiers for each other?
No. With a correlation of 0.88, CET and QUAL move nearly in lockstep, so holding both adds very little diversification.
FAQ
What is the correlation between CET and QUAL?
The CET/QUAL correlation stands at 0.88 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.89, 5 years: 0.85), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is QUAL a good diversifier for CET?
No. With a correlation of 0.88, CET and QUAL move nearly in lockstep, so holding both adds very little diversification.
What does a correlation of 0.88 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.88 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/cet-vs-qual.json
Markdown for the live badge, attribution link included:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/cet-vs-qual/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: CET correlations · QUAL correlations
