NEA vs VKQ: Correlation
Nuveen AMT-Free Quality Municipal Income Fund (NEA) and Invesco Municipal Trust (VKQ) show a very strong relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.85.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are NEA and VKQ?
Across a 3-year window, the weekly returns of NEA and VKQ correlate at 0.85, very strong, meaning they move nearly in lockstep. Recent behaviour matches the longer record: 0.87 over 1 year against 0.85 over 3. Stretching to 5 years gives 0.84, with an annualized covariance of 107.7 %².
Among the 36 assets we track against NEA, VKQ ranks #7 by 3-year correlation. Over the last 12 months VKQ came out ahead by 5.5 percentage points (+10.4% against +15.9%).
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 VKQ: side by side
| NEA (Nuveen AMT-Free Quality Municipal Income Fund) | VKQ (Invesco Municipal Trust) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +10.4% | +15.9% |
| 5-year return | -4.4% | -4.8% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 10.9% | 11.7% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.28 | 0.30 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -11.3% | -11.7% |
| Market cap | $3.4B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 14.5 | 32.7 |
| Dividend yield | 7.70% | 7.72% |
| Sector / category | US Listed | US Listed |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | NEA | VKQ |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -23.3% | -22.3% |
| 2023 | +0.8% | +0.9% |
| 2024 | +9.5% | +9.7% |
| 2025 | +11.3% | +6.5% |
| 2026 | +1.7% | +6.9% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are NEA and VKQ good diversifiers for each other?
No. With a correlation of 0.85, NEA and VKQ move nearly in lockstep, so holding both adds very little diversification.
FAQ
What is the correlation between NEA and VKQ?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.85 over 3 years, with 0.87 over the last year and 0.84 over 5 years.
Is VKQ a good diversifier for NEA?
No. With a correlation of 0.85, NEA and VKQ move nearly in lockstep, so holding both adds very little diversification.
What does a correlation of 0.85 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.85 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/nea-vs-vkq.json
Markdown for the live badge, attribution link included:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/nea-vs-vkq/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: NEA correlations · VKQ correlations
