NBB vs SHY: Correlation
How closely do Nuveen Taxable Municipal Income Fund (NBB) and iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF (SHY) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.56, which is moderate.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are NBB and SHY?
Over the past 3 years, NBB and SHY moved with a correlation of 0.56, which is moderate. The link has loosened recently: the 1-year correlation (0.45) runs below the 3-year figure (0.56). Over 5 years the correlation is 0.51, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 10.5 %².
Among the 19 assets we track against NBB, SHY ranks #13 by 3-year correlation. Their 12-month results are close: +5.3% for NBB against +2.5% for SHY. Risk is not evenly split, since NBB carries 7.5 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.
NBB vs SHY: side by side
| NBB (Nuveen Taxable Municipal Income Fund) | SHY (iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +5.3% | +2.5% |
| 5-year return | -5.4% | +9.6% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 12.0% | 1.6% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.22 | 0.00 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -11.4% | -1.0% |
| Market cap | – | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 16.4 | – |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | 3.65% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.15% |
| Assets under management | – | $25.1B |
| Sector / category | US Listed | ETF · Bonds |
SHY, iShares's Short Government fund, carries $25.1B under management, a 0.15% expense ratio, a 3.65% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | NBB | SHY |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -24.6% | -3.9% |
| 2023 | +7.6% | +4.2% |
| 2024 | +1.4% | +3.9% |
| 2025 | +13.6% | +5.0% |
| 2026 | +2.4% | +1.1% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are NBB and SHY good diversifiers for each other?
To a limited degree. At 0.56 the two still catch most of the same waves, so the pair smooths returns a little without insulating either from a shared selloff.
FAQ
What is the correlation between NBB and SHY?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.56 over 3 years, with 0.45 over the last year and 0.51 over 5 years.
Is SHY a good diversifier for NBB?
To a limited degree. At 0.56 the two still catch most of the same waves, so the pair smooths returns a little without insulating either from a shared selloff.
What does a correlation of 0.56 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/nbb-vs-shy.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/nbb-vs-shy/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: NBB correlations · SHY correlations
