IRM vs VNQ: Correlation
Iron Mountain (IRM) and Vanguard Real Estate ETF (VNQ) show a strong relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.60.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are IRM and VNQ?
On 3 years of weekly data the IRM/VNQ correlation comes out at 0.60, strong. Little has changed lately, as the 1-year reading of 0.56 lands near the 3-year figure. The 5-year figure is 0.66, and annualized covariance runs at 305.8 %².
Among the 31 assets we track against IRM, VNQ ranks #4 by 3-year correlation. The last year tells two different stories: IRM led by 27.8 percentage points, +38.1% for IRM against +10.3% for VNQ. Across three years, the rolling one-year figure varied moderately, from 0.52 to 0.85. Note the risk asymmetry: IRM runs 1.9 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.
IRM vs VNQ: side by side
| IRM (Iron Mountain) | VNQ (Vanguard Real Estate ETF) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +38.1% | +10.3% |
| 5-year return | +219.3% | +9.5% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 30.8% | 16.6% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.96 | 0.59 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -39.0% | -17.5% |
| Market cap | $36.5B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 86.4 | – |
| Dividend yield | 2.78% | 3.51% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.13% |
| Assets under management | – | $73.1B |
| Sector / category | Real Estate | ETF · Real Estate |
VNQ is a Real Estate fund from Vanguard: $73.1B under management, 140 holdings, a 0.13% expense ratio, a 3.51% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | IRM | VNQ |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -0.1% | -26.3% |
| 2023 | +46.5% | +11.9% |
| 2024 | +54.5% | +4.8% |
| 2025 | -18.2% | +3.2% |
| 2026 | +50.1% | +12.5% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Fund exposure
A structural note: 1.9% of VNQ is IRM itself, so the fund partly moves with the stock by construction.
Are IRM and VNQ good diversifiers for each other?
Somewhat, no more. With 0.60 correlation, most large moves hit both names, and the diversification benefit stays modest.
FAQ
What is the correlation between IRM and VNQ?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.60 over 3 years, with 0.56 over the last year and 0.66 over 5 years.
Is VNQ a good diversifier for IRM?
Somewhat, no more. With 0.60 correlation, most large moves hit both names, and the diversification benefit stays modest.
What does a correlation of 0.60 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.60 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/irm-vs-vnq.json
Markdown for the live badge, attribution link included:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/irm-vs-vnq/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: IRM correlations · VNQ correlations
