MDY vs RL: Correlation
How closely do SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF (MDY) and Ralph Lauren Corporation (RL) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.57, which is moderate.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are MDY and RL?
On 3 years of weekly data the MDY/RL correlation comes out at 0.57, moderate. The relationship has been stable: the 1-year correlation (0.57) sits close to the 3-year figure. The 5-year figure is 0.63, and annualized covariance runs at 315.3 %².
By 3-year correlation, RL places #226 of the 359 assets tracked against MDY. Neither side won the trailing year by much: +18.3% against +20.7%. The link looks structural: the rolling one-year correlation barely moved, holding between 0.50 and 0.71. Risk is not evenly split, since RL carries 2.0 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.
MDY vs RL: side by side
| MDY (SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF) | RL (Ralph Lauren Corporation) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +18.3% | +20.7% |
| 5-year return | +47.5% | +232.5% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 16.5% | 33.6% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.91 | 1.07 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -24.0% | -36.2% |
| Market cap | – | $21.0B |
| P/E (trailing) | – | 22.8 |
| Dividend yield | 1.02% | 1.03% |
| Expense ratio | 0.23% | – |
| Assets under management | $26.5B | – |
| Sector / category | ETF · US Small & Mid Cap | Consumer Discretionary |
MDY is a Mid-Cap Blend fund from State Street Investment Management: $26.5B under management, 400 holdings, a 0.23% expense ratio, a 1.02% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | MDY | RL |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -13.3% | -8.4% |
| 2023 | +16.1% | +39.8% |
| 2024 | +13.6% | +62.9% |
| 2025 | +7.2% | +55.0% |
| 2026 | +16.4% | +0.0% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are MDY and RL good diversifiers for each other?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.57 means MDY and RL 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 MDY and RL?
As of 2026-08-27, the correlation of weekly returns between MDY and RL is 0.57 over 3 years, 0.57 over 1 year and 0.63 over 5 years.
Is RL a good diversifier for MDY?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.57 means MDY and RL share most of their swings. Pairing them dampens volatility somewhat, but it will not protect against a common drawdown.
What does a correlation of 0.57 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.57 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/mdy-vs-rl.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/mdy-vs-rl/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: MDY correlations · RL correlations
