HIX vs SPY: Correlation
Western Asset High Income Fund II Inc. (HIX) and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) show a moderate relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.59.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are HIX and SPY?
Over the past 3 years, HIX and SPY moved with a correlation of 0.59, which is moderate. Recent behaviour matches the longer record: 0.58 over 1 year against 0.59 over 3. Over 5 years the correlation is 0.59, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 114.0 %².
By 3-year correlation, SPY places #6 of the 11 assets tracked against HIX. Correlation aside, the last 12 months split them widely, with SPY ahead by 15.6 points (+5.0% versus +20.6%).
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.
HIX vs SPY: side by side
| HIX (Western Asset High Income Fund II Inc.) | SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +5.0% | +20.6% |
| 5-year return | -2.9% | +82.4% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 13.4% | 14.5% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.55 | 1.00 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -13.8% | -18.8% |
| Market cap | $0.4B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 7.6 | – |
| Dividend yield | 15.04% | 1.01% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.09% |
| Assets under management | – | $795.3B |
| Sector / category | US Listed | ETF · US Large Cap |
SPY is a Large Blend fund from State Street Investment Management: $795.3B under management, 504 holdings, a 0.09% expense ratio, a 1.01% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | HIX | SPY |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -24.6% | -18.2% |
| 2023 | +15.7% | +26.2% |
| 2024 | -3.1% | +24.9% |
| 2025 | +13.6% | +17.7% |
| 2026 | +3.3% | +13.7% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are HIX and SPY good diversifiers for each other?
To a limited degree. At 0.59 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 HIX and SPY?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.59 over 3 years, with 0.58 over the last year and 0.59 over 5 years.
Is SPY a good diversifier for HIX?
To a limited degree. At 0.59 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 0.59 mean?
A reading of 0.59 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/hix-vs-spy.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/hix-vs-spy/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: HIX correlations · SPY correlations
