IEF vs NAD: Correlation
iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEF) and Nuveen Quality Municipal Income Fund (NAD) show a strong relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.70.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are IEF and NAD?
On 3 years of weekly data the IEF/NAD correlation comes out at 0.70, strong. The link has loosened recently: the 1-year correlation (0.59) runs below the 3-year figure (0.70). The 5-year figure is 0.56, and annualized covariance runs at 49.9 %².
By 3-year correlation, NAD places #11 of the 48 assets tracked against IEF. On 12-month performance NAD holds a 11.2-point edge, +0.9% against +12.1%. Note the risk asymmetry: NAD runs 1.7 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.
IEF vs NAD: side by side
| IEF (iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF) | NAD (Nuveen Quality Municipal Income Fund) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +0.9% | +12.1% |
| 5-year return | -7.9% | -2.4% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 6.5% | 11.0% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.04 | 0.27 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -6.9% | -11.7% |
| Market cap | – | $2.7B |
| P/E (trailing) | – | 14.9 |
| Dividend yield | 3.96% | 7.38% |
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | – |
| Assets under management | $47.2B | – |
| Sector / category | ETF · Bonds | US Listed |
On the fund side, IEF sits in the Long Government category at iShares, with $47.2B under management, a 0.15% expense ratio, a 3.96% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | IEF | NAD |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -15.2% | -22.8% |
| 2023 | +3.6% | +1.3% |
| 2024 | -0.6% | +8.8% |
| 2025 | +8.0% | +11.4% |
| 2026 | -0.8% | +2.5% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are IEF and NAD good diversifiers for each other?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.70 means IEF and NAD share most of their swings. Pairing them dampens volatility somewhat, but it will not protect against a common drawdown.
FAQ
What is the correlation between IEF and NAD?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.70 over 3 years, with 0.59 over the last year and 0.56 over 5 years.
Is NAD a good diversifier for IEF?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.70 means IEF and NAD share most of their swings. Pairing them dampens volatility somewhat, but it will not protect against a common drawdown.
What does a correlation of 0.70 mean?
Correlation ranges from −1 to +1. Values near +1 mean two assets move together, near 0 that they move independently, and negative values that they tend to move in opposite directions. It measures co-movement, not performance.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/ief-vs-nad.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/ief-vs-nad/)
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Related comparisons
Hubs: IEF correlations · NAD correlations
