NRT vs QUAL: Correlation
North European Oil Royality Trust (NRT) and iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL) show a negative relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is -0.16.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are NRT and QUAL?
On 3 years of weekly data the NRT/QUAL correlation comes out at -0.16, negative, meaning they tend to move in opposite directions. Recent behaviour matches the longer record: -0.22 over 1 year against -0.16 over 3. The 5-year figure is 0.05, and annualized covariance runs at -114.1 %².
Within NRT's tracked universe of 62 assets, QUAL comes in at #13 by 3-year correlation. Their recent paths diverged sharply: over the last 12 months NRT outperformed by 65.5 percentage points (+85.2% for NRT against +19.7% for QUAL). Note the risk asymmetry: NRT runs 3.7 times the annualized volatility of the other leg, so equal-weighting the two is not an equal-risk position.
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.
NRT vs QUAL: side by side
| NRT (North European Oil Royality Trust) | QUAL (iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +85.2% | +19.7% |
| 5-year return | +131.5% | +68.0% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 51.6% | 14.0% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | -0.42 | 0.93 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -66.1% | -18.0% |
| Market cap | $0.1B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 8.4 | – |
| Dividend yield | 11.95% | 0.86% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.15% |
| Assets under management | – | $46.5B |
| Sector / category | US Listed | ETF · US Style |
QUAL, iShares's Large Blend fund, carries $46.5B under management, 123 holdings, a 0.15% expense ratio, a 0.86% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | NRT | QUAL |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +41.9% | -20.5% |
| 2023 | -46.5% | +30.9% |
| 2024 | -25.3% | +22.3% |
| 2025 | +88.4% | +12.7% |
| 2026 | +41.9% | +13.5% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are NRT and QUAL good diversifiers for each other?
Yes. With a correlation of -0.16, NRT and QUAL have moved largely independently, which makes them a genuinely diversifying pair by historical standards.
FAQ
What is the correlation between NRT and QUAL?
As of 2026-08-27, the correlation of weekly returns between NRT and QUAL is -0.16 over 3 years, -0.22 over 1 year and 0.05 over 5 years.
Is QUAL a good diversifier for NRT?
Yes. With a correlation of -0.16, NRT and QUAL have moved largely independently, which makes them a genuinely diversifying pair by historical standards.
What does a correlation of -0.16 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, -0.16 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/nrt-vs-qual.json
Markdown for the live badge, attribution link included:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/nrt-vs-qual/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: NRT correlations · QUAL correlations
