ECF vs NCZ: Correlation
How closely do Ellsworth Growth and Income Fund Ltd. (ECF) and Virtus Convertible & Income Fund II (NCZ) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.75, which is strong.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are ECF and NCZ?
On 3 years of weekly data the ECF/NCZ correlation comes out at 0.75, strong. Recent behaviour matches the longer record: 0.77 over 1 year against 0.75 over 3. The 5-year figure is 0.78, and annualized covariance runs at 234.7 %².
Few assets follow ECF as closely as NCZ, which ranks #2 of 19 tracked partners. Over the last 12 months NCZ came out ahead by 5.3 percentage points (+22.9% against +28.2%).
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.
ECF vs NCZ: side by side
| ECF (Ellsworth Growth and Income Fund Ltd.) | NCZ (Virtus Convertible & Income Fund II) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +22.9% | +28.2% |
| 5-year return | +25.8% | +29.5% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 16.5% | 18.8% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.71 | 0.94 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -16.8% | -19.5% |
| Market cap | $0.2B | $0.3B |
| P/E (trailing) | 3.9 | 4.3 |
| Dividend yield | 7.38% | 9.33% |
| Sector / category | US Listed | US Listed |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | ECF | NCZ |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -31.6% | -35.8% |
| 2023 | +8.0% | +17.8% |
| 2024 | +27.5% | +18.4% |
| 2025 | +30.0% | +23.2% |
| 2026 | +10.6% | +21.0% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are ECF and NCZ good diversifiers for each other?
Somewhat, no more. With 0.75 correlation, most large moves hit both names, and the diversification benefit stays modest.
FAQ
What is the correlation between ECF and NCZ?
As of 2026-08-27, the correlation of weekly returns between ECF and NCZ is 0.75 over 3 years, 0.77 over 1 year and 0.78 over 5 years.
Is NCZ a good diversifier for ECF?
Somewhat, no more. With 0.75 correlation, most large moves hit both names, and the diversification benefit stays modest.
What does a correlation of 0.75 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.75 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/ecf-vs-ncz.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/ecf-vs-ncz/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: ECF correlations · NCZ correlations
