NEA vs VBF: Correlation
How closely do Nuveen AMT-Free Quality Municipal Income Fund (NEA) and Invesco Bond Fund (VBF) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.64, which is strong.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are NEA and VBF?
On 3 years of weekly data the NEA/VBF correlation comes out at 0.64, strong. Little has changed lately, as the 1-year reading of 0.57 lands near the 3-year figure. The 5-year figure is 0.48, and annualized covariance runs at 63.4 %².
Within NEA's tracked universe of 36 assets, VBF comes in at #27 by 3-year correlation. Over the last 12 months NEA came out ahead by 9.7 percentage points (+10.4% against +0.7%).
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.
NEA vs VBF: side by side
| NEA (Nuveen AMT-Free Quality Municipal Income Fund) | VBF (Invesco Bond Fund) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +10.4% | +0.7% |
| 5-year return | -4.4% | -4.4% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 10.9% | 9.2% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.28 | 0.19 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -11.3% | -11.5% |
| Market cap | $3.4B | $0.2B |
| P/E (trailing) | 14.5 | 14.4 |
| Dividend yield | 7.70% | 5.72% |
| Sector / category | US Listed | US Listed |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | NEA | VBF |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -23.3% | -17.8% |
| 2023 | +0.8% | +2.3% |
| 2024 | +9.5% | +7.0% |
| 2025 | +11.3% | +5.5% |
| 2026 | +1.7% | -1.0% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are NEA and VBF good diversifiers for each other?
To a limited degree. At 0.64 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 NEA and VBF?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.64 over 3 years, with 0.57 over the last year and 0.48 over 5 years.
Is VBF a good diversifier for NEA?
To a limited degree. At 0.64 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 0.64 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/nea-vs-vbf.json
Markdown for the live badge, attribution link included:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/nea-vs-vbf/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: NEA correlations · VBF correlations
