IQI vs NEA: Correlation
Measured on weekly returns over the past three years, Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust (IQI) and Nuveen AMT-Free Quality Municipal Income Fund (NEA) carry a correlation of 0.85, a very strong link.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are IQI and NEA?
On 3 years of weekly data the IQI/NEA correlation comes out at 0.85, very strong, meaning they move nearly in lockstep. Recent behaviour matches the longer record: 0.77 over 1 year against 0.85 over 3. The 5-year figure is 0.82, and annualized covariance runs at 108.9 %².
By 3-year correlation, NEA places #5 of the 27 assets tracked against IQI. Over the last 12 months IQI came out ahead by 6.3 percentage points (+16.7% against +10.4%).
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.
IQI vs NEA: side by side
| IQI (Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust) | NEA (Nuveen AMT-Free Quality Municipal Income Fund) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +16.7% | +10.4% |
| 5-year return | +1.1% | -4.4% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 11.8% | 10.9% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.31 | 0.28 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -11.2% | -11.3% |
| Market cap | – | $3.4B |
| P/E (trailing) | 29.9 | 14.5 |
| Dividend yield | 7.50% | 7.70% |
| Sector / category | US Listed | US Listed |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | IQI | NEA |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -26.9% | -23.3% |
| 2023 | +5.9% | +0.8% |
| 2024 | +10.5% | +9.5% |
| 2025 | +9.2% | +11.3% |
| 2026 | +7.1% | +1.7% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are IQI and NEA good diversifiers for each other?
No. With a correlation of 0.85, IQI and NEA move nearly in lockstep, so holding both adds very little diversification.
FAQ
What is the correlation between IQI and NEA?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.85 over 3 years, with 0.77 over the last year and 0.82 over 5 years.
Is NEA a good diversifier for IQI?
No. With a correlation of 0.85, IQI and NEA move nearly in lockstep, so holding both adds very little diversification.
What does a correlation of 0.85 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.85 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/iqi-vs-nea.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/iqi-vs-nea/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: IQI correlations · NEA correlations
