DTF vs QQQ: Correlation
DTF Tax-Free Income 2028 Term Fund Inc. (DTF) and Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) show a weak relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.25.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are DTF and QQQ?
Across a 3-year window, the weekly returns of DTF and QQQ correlate at 0.25, weak. The relationship has been stable: the 1-year correlation (0.30) sits close to the 3-year figure. Stretching to 5 years gives 0.40, with an annualized covariance of 24.2 %².
QQQ is close to the least connected end of DTF's tracked universe, ranking #7 of 10. Their recent paths diverged sharply: over the last 12 months QQQ outperformed by 20.7 percentage points (+5.6% for DTF against +26.3% for QQQ). Risk is not evenly split, since QQQ carries 3.9 times the volatility of the other side.
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 QQQ: side by side
| DTF (DTF Tax-Free Income 2028 Term Fund Inc.) | QQQ (Invesco QQQ Trust) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +5.6% | +26.3% |
| 5-year return | -7.5% | +95.4% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 5.0% | 19.6% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.10 | 1.28 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -5.4% | -22.8% |
| Market cap | $0.1B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 28.1 | – |
| Dividend yield | 3.37% | 0.44% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.18% |
| Assets under management | – | $452.8B |
| Sector / category | US Listed | ETF · US Growth & Tech |
QQQ is a Large Growth fund from Invesco: $452.8B under management, 104 holdings, a 0.18% expense ratio, a 0.44% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | DTF | QQQ |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -21.1% | -32.6% |
| 2023 | +2.2% | +54.9% |
| 2024 | +8.2% | +25.6% |
| 2025 | +5.4% | +20.8% |
| 2026 | +3.1% | +17.7% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are DTF and QQQ good diversifiers for each other?
Yes, to a useful degree: a correlation of 0.25 leaves real independence between the two, which historically damped combined volatility.
FAQ
What is the correlation between DTF and QQQ?
The DTF/QQQ correlation stands at 0.25 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.30, 5 years: 0.40), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is QQQ a good diversifier for DTF?
Yes, to a useful degree: a correlation of 0.25 leaves real independence between the two, which historically damped combined volatility.
What does a correlation of 0.25 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.25 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-qqq.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/dtf-vs-qqq/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: DTF correlations · QQQ correlations
