FA vs MCO: Correlation
Measured on weekly returns over the past three years, First Advantage Corporation (FA) and Moody's Corporation (MCO) carry a correlation of 0.53, a moderate link.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are FA and MCO?
On 3 years of weekly data the FA/MCO correlation comes out at 0.53, moderate. The relationship has been stable: the 1-year correlation (0.61) sits close to the 3-year figure. The 5-year figure is 0.50, and annualized covariance runs at 625.2 %².
MCO is one of the assets that tracks FA most closely: it ranks #2 out of the 16 assets we track against FA. Correlation aside, the last 12 months split them widely, with FA ahead by 26.3 points (+27.0% versus +0.7%). Risk is not evenly split, since FA carries 1.8 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.
FA vs MCO: side by side
| FA (First Advantage Corporation) | MCO (Moody's Corporation) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +27.0% | +0.7% |
| 5-year return | +6.1% | +39.4% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 45.8% | 25.8% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 1.18 | 1.08 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -55.9% | -24.7% |
| Market cap | $3.6B | $88.2B |
| P/E (trailing) | 139.5 | 32.7 |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | 0.77% |
| Sector / category | US Listed | Financials |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | FA | MCO |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -31.7% | -28.0% |
| 2023 | +41.5% | +41.5% |
| 2024 | +13.0% | +22.2% |
| 2025 | -22.4% | +8.7% |
| 2026 | +44.0% | +0.3% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are FA and MCO good diversifiers for each other?
To a limited degree. At 0.53 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 FA and MCO?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.53 over 3 years, with 0.61 over the last year and 0.50 over 5 years.
Is MCO a good diversifier for FA?
To a limited degree. At 0.53 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 0.53 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.53 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/fa-vs-mco.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/fa-vs-mco/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: FA correlations · MCO correlations
