NBB vs TLT: Correlation
Nuveen Taxable Municipal Income Fund (NBB) and iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) show a strong relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.71.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are NBB and TLT?
On 3 years of weekly data the NBB/TLT correlation comes out at 0.71, strong. Lately the two have drifted apart, with the 1-year correlation at 0.55 versus 0.71 over 3 years. The 5-year figure is 0.63, and annualized covariance runs at 114.0 %².
Among the 19 assets we track against NBB, TLT ranks #9 by 3-year correlation. On 12-month performance NBB holds a 5.0-point edge, +5.3% against +0.3%.
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 TLT: side by side
| NBB (Nuveen Taxable Municipal Income Fund) | TLT (iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +5.3% | +0.3% |
| 5-year return | -5.4% | -34.0% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 12.0% | 13.5% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.22 | 0.11 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -11.4% | -14.8% |
| Market cap | – | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 16.4 | – |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | 4.75% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.15% |
| Assets under management | – | $41.5B |
| Sector / category | US Listed | ETF · Bonds |
On the fund side, TLT sits in the Long Government category at iShares, with $41.5B under management, a 0.15% expense ratio, a 4.75% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | NBB | TLT |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -24.6% | -31.2% |
| 2023 | +7.6% | +2.8% |
| 2024 | +1.4% | -8.1% |
| 2025 | +13.6% | +4.2% |
| 2026 | +2.4% | -2.1% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are NBB and TLT good diversifiers for each other?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.71 means NBB and TLT 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 NBB and TLT?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.71 over 3 years, with 0.55 over the last year and 0.63 over 5 years.
Is TLT a good diversifier for NBB?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.71 means NBB and TLT share most of their swings. Pairing them dampens volatility somewhat, but it will not protect against a common drawdown.
What does a correlation of 0.71 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-tlt.json
Markdown for the live badge, attribution link included:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/nbb-vs-tlt/)
The core API is free. Terms and every endpoint in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: NBB correlations · TLT correlations
