FFA vs QUAL: Correlation
First Trust Enhanced Equity Income Fund (FFA) and iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL) show a very strong relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.87.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are FFA and QUAL?
Across a 3-year window, the weekly returns of FFA and QUAL correlate at 0.87, very strong, meaning they move nearly in lockstep. Recent behaviour matches the longer record: 0.84 over 1 year against 0.87 over 3. Stretching to 5 years gives 0.88, with an annualized covariance of 181.4 %².
Within FFA's tracked universe of 20 assets, QUAL comes in at #7 by 3-year correlation. Twelve-month performance is nearly a tie, at +17.3% for FFA and +19.7% for QUAL.
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.
FFA vs QUAL: side by side
| FFA (First Trust Enhanced Equity Income Fund) | QUAL (iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +17.3% | +19.7% |
| 5-year return | +54.8% | +68.0% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 14.9% | 14.0% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.93 | 0.93 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -19.9% | -18.0% |
| Market cap | $0.5B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 5.7 | – |
| Dividend yield | 6.39% | 0.86% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.15% |
| Assets under management | – | $46.5B |
| Sector / category | US Listed | ETF · US Style |
QUAL, iShares's Large Blend fund, carries $46.5B under management, 123 holdings, a 0.15% expense ratio, a 0.86% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | FFA | QUAL |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -20.3% | -20.5% |
| 2023 | +24.7% | +30.9% |
| 2024 | +21.5% | +22.3% |
| 2025 | +14.2% | +12.7% |
| 2026 | +8.9% | +13.5% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are FFA and QUAL good diversifiers for each other?
No. With a correlation of 0.87, FFA and QUAL move nearly in lockstep, so holding both adds very little diversification.
FAQ
What is the correlation between FFA and QUAL?
As of 2026-08-27, the correlation of weekly returns between FFA and QUAL is 0.87 over 3 years, 0.84 over 1 year and 0.88 over 5 years.
Is QUAL a good diversifier for FFA?
No. With a correlation of 0.87, FFA and QUAL move nearly in lockstep, so holding both adds very little diversification.
What does a correlation of 0.87 mean?
A reading of 0.87 sits on a scale from −1 (opposite moves) through 0 (unrelated) to +1 (identical moves). Correlation captures direction, not magnitude or performance.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/ffa-vs-qual.json
Markdown for the live badge, attribution link included:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/ffa-vs-qual/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: FFA correlations · QUAL correlations
