EFC vs SMHB: Correlation
Ellington Financial Inc. (EFC) and ETRACS Monthly Pay 2x Leveraged Small Cap High Dividend ETN (SMHB) show a strong relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.61.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are EFC and SMHB?
On 3 years of weekly data the EFC/SMHB correlation comes out at 0.61, strong. The link has loosened recently: the 1-year correlation (0.40) runs below the 3-year figure (0.61). The 5-year figure is 0.71, and annualized covariance runs at 446.1 %².
By 3-year correlation, SMHB places #5 of the 13 assets tracked against EFC. Twelve-month performance is nearly a tie, at +10.7% for EFC and +7.4% for SMHB. Risk is not evenly split, since SMHB carries 2.1 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.
EFC vs SMHB: side by side
| EFC (Ellington Financial Inc.) | SMHB (ETRACS Monthly Pay 2x Leveraged Small Cap High Dividend ETN) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +10.7% | +7.4% |
| 5-year return | +35.9% | -13.5% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 18.8% | 39.3% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.54 | 1.42 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -18.9% | -45.0% |
| Market cap | $1.8B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 8.4 | – |
| Dividend yield | 11.59% | – |
| Sector / category | US Listed | US Listed |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | EFC | SMHB |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -18.3% | -36.0% |
| 2023 | +18.2% | +36.0% |
| 2024 | +8.7% | -15.8% |
| 2025 | +26.1% | -7.7% |
| 2026 | +7.2% | +22.1% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are EFC and SMHB good diversifiers for each other?
To a limited degree. At 0.61 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 EFC and SMHB?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.61 over 3 years, with 0.40 over the last year and 0.71 over 5 years.
Is SMHB a good diversifier for EFC?
To a limited degree. At 0.61 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 0.61 mean?
Correlation ranges from −1 to +1. Values near +1 mean two assets move together, near 0 that they move independently, and negative values that they tend to move in opposite directions. It measures co-movement, not performance.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/efc-vs-smhb.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/efc-vs-smhb/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: EFC correlations · SMHB correlations
