DTF vs LEO: Correlation
How closely do DTF Tax-Free Income 2028 Term Fund Inc. (DTF) and BNY Mellon Strategic Municipals, Inc. (LEO) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.62, which is strong.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are DTF and LEO?
On 3 years of weekly data the DTF/LEO correlation comes out at 0.62, strong. The past 12 months show a weaker link (0.45) than the 3-year average (0.62). The 5-year figure is 0.58, and annualized covariance runs at 37.9 %².
LEO is one of the assets that tracks DTF most closely: it ranks #3 out of the 10 assets we track against DTF. Neither side won the trailing year by much: +5.6% against +10.2%. One caveat on sizing: LEO is 2.4 times as volatile as the other leg, so an equal-dollar split is far from equal-risk.
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.
DTF vs LEO: side by side
| DTF (DTF Tax-Free Income 2028 Term Fund Inc.) | LEO (BNY Mellon Strategic Municipals, Inc.) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +5.6% | +10.2% |
| 5-year return | -7.5% | -18.0% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 5.0% | 12.2% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.10 | 0.26 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -5.4% | -13.1% |
| Market cap | $0.1B | $0.4B |
| P/E (trailing) | 28.1 | 30.9 |
| Dividend yield | 3.37% | 4.41% |
| Sector / category | US Listed | US Listed |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | DTF | LEO |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -21.1% | -24.1% |
| 2023 | +2.2% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | +8.2% | +6.9% |
| 2025 | +5.4% | +9.9% |
| 2026 | +3.1% | +0.4% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are DTF and LEO good diversifiers for each other?
To a limited degree. At 0.62 the two still catch most of the same waves, so the pair smooths returns a little without insulating either from a shared selloff.
FAQ
What is the correlation between DTF and LEO?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.62 over 3 years, with 0.45 over the last year and 0.58 over 5 years.
Is LEO a good diversifier for DTF?
To a limited degree. At 0.62 the two still catch most of the same waves, so the pair smooths returns a little without insulating either from a shared selloff.
What does a correlation of 0.62 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.62 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/dtf-vs-leo.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/dtf-vs-leo/)
The core API is free. Terms and every endpoint in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: DTF correlations · LEO correlations
