HYG vs NRO: Correlation
Measured on weekly returns over the past three years, iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) and Neuberger Real Estate Securities Income Fund Inc. (NRO) carry a correlation of 0.73, a strong link.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are HYG and NRO?
Over the past 3 years, HYG and NRO moved with a correlation of 0.73, which is strong. The link has loosened recently: the 1-year correlation (0.62) runs below the 3-year figure (0.73). Over 5 years the correlation is 0.71, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 64.8 %².
By 3-year correlation, NRO places #15 of the 46 assets tracked against HYG. Their 12-month results are close: +4.6% for HYG against +2.5% for NRO. Risk is not evenly split, since NRO carries 4.0 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.
HYG vs NRO: side by side
| HYG (iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF) | NRO (Neuberger Real Estate Securities Income Fund Inc.) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +4.6% | +2.5% |
| 5-year return | +19.9% | +2.7% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 4.7% | 18.9% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.22 | 0.70 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -4.6% | -24.8% |
| Market cap | – | $0.2B |
| P/E (trailing) | – | 8.2 |
| Dividend yield | 5.94% | 0.00% |
| Expense ratio | 0.49% | – |
| Assets under management | $17.1B | – |
| Sector / category | ETF · Bonds | US Listed |
On the fund side, HYG sits in the High Yield Bond category at iShares, with $17.1B under management, a 0.49% expense ratio, a 5.94% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | HYG | NRO |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -11.0% | -35.1% |
| 2023 | +11.5% | +15.1% |
| 2024 | +8.0% | +23.8% |
| 2025 | +8.6% | +0.8% |
| 2026 | +2.5% | +5.0% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are HYG and NRO good diversifiers for each other?
To a limited degree. At 0.73 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 HYG and NRO?
As of 2026-08-27, the correlation of weekly returns between HYG and NRO is 0.73 over 3 years, 0.62 over 1 year and 0.71 over 5 years.
Is NRO a good diversifier for HYG?
To a limited degree. At 0.73 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 0.73 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.73 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/hyg-vs-nro.json
Markdown for the live badge, attribution link included:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/hyg-vs-nro/)
The core API is free. Terms and every endpoint in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: HYG correlations · NRO correlations
