MHF vs NBH: Correlation
How closely do Western Asset Municipal High Income Fund, Inc. (MHF) and Neuberger Municipal Fund Inc. (NBH) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.59, which is moderate.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are MHF and NBH?
On 3 years of weekly data the MHF/NBH correlation comes out at 0.59, moderate. Recent behaviour matches the longer record: 0.57 over 1 year against 0.59 over 3. The 5-year figure is 0.50, and annualized covariance runs at 82.1 %².
NBH is one of the assets that tracks MHF most closely: it ranks #2 out of the 10 assets we track against MHF. Twelve-month performance is nearly a tie, at +5.6% for MHF and +10.2% for NBH.
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.
MHF vs NBH: side by side
| MHF (Western Asset Municipal High Income Fund, Inc.) | NBH (Neuberger Municipal Fund Inc.) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +5.6% | +10.2% |
| 5-year return | +6.2% | -21.0% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 12.2% | 11.4% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.32 | 0.30 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -13.3% | -11.1% |
| Market cap | $0.2B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 18.0 | 14.6 |
| Dividend yield | 5.93% | 6.35% |
| Sector / category | US Listed | US Listed |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | MHF | NBH |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -17.6% | -28.2% |
| 2023 | +4.6% | +4.0% |
| 2024 | +12.0% | +5.3% |
| 2025 | +7.2% | +4.2% |
| 2026 | +3.3% | +4.7% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are MHF and NBH good diversifiers for each other?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.59 means MHF and NBH 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 MHF and NBH?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.59 over 3 years, with 0.57 over the last year and 0.50 over 5 years.
Is NBH a good diversifier for MHF?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.59 means MHF and NBH share most of their swings. Pairing them dampens volatility somewhat, but it will not protect against a common drawdown.
What does a correlation of 0.59 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.59 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/mhf-vs-nbh.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/mhf-vs-nbh/)
The core API is free. Terms and every endpoint in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: MHF correlations · NBH correlations
