HIX vs VXX: Correlation
How closely do Western Asset High Income Fund II Inc. (HIX) and iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of -0.53, which is negative.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are HIX and VXX?
Across a 3-year window, the weekly returns of HIX and VXX correlate at -0.53, negative, meaning they tend to move in opposite directions. Little has changed lately, as the 1-year reading of -0.63 lands near the 3-year figure. Stretching to 5 years gives -0.45, with an annualized covariance of -428.4 %².
Out of 11 assets tracked against HIX, VXX lands near the bottom at #11. Their recent paths diverged sharply: over the last 12 months HIX outperformed by 54.7 percentage points (+5.0% for HIX against -49.7% for VXX). Note the risk asymmetry: VXX runs 4.5 times the annualized volatility of the other leg, so equal-weighting the two is not an equal-risk position.
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 VXX: side by side
| HIX (Western Asset High Income Fund II Inc.) | VXX (iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +5.0% | -49.7% |
| 5-year return | -2.9% | -95.6% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 13.4% | 60.9% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.55 | -3.31 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -13.8% | -83.3% |
| Market cap | $0.4B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 7.6 | – |
| Dividend yield | 15.04% | 0.00% |
| Sector / category | US Listed | US Listed |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | HIX | VXX |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -24.6% | -23.8% |
| 2023 | +15.7% | -72.5% |
| 2024 | -3.1% | -26.2% |
| 2025 | +13.6% | -42.2% |
| 2026 | +3.3% | -31.6% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are HIX and VXX good diversifiers for each other?
Yes: at -0.53, the two have gone their own ways historically, which is what genuine diversification looks like.
FAQ
What is the correlation between HIX and VXX?
As of 2026-08-27, the correlation of weekly returns between HIX and VXX is -0.53 over 3 years, -0.63 over 1 year and -0.45 over 5 years.
Is VXX a good diversifier for HIX?
Yes: at -0.53, the two have gone their own ways historically, which is what genuine diversification looks like.
What does a correlation of -0.53 mean?
A reading of -0.53 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-vxx.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/hix-vs-vxx/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: HIX correlations · VXX correlations
