NUW vs SPY: Correlation
How closely do Nuveen AMT-Free Municipal Value Fund (NUW) and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.26, which is weak.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are NUW and SPY?
Across a 3-year window, the weekly returns of NUW and SPY correlate at 0.26, weak. Lately the two have moved closer together, with the 1-year correlation at 0.41 versus 0.26 over 3 years. Stretching to 5 years gives 0.37, with an annualized covariance of 32.0 %².
Among the 10 assets we track against NUW, SPY sits near the bottom by co-movement, at rank #6. On 12-month performance SPY holds a 14.7-point edge, +5.9% against +20.6%. Note the risk asymmetry: SPY runs 1.7 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.
NUW vs SPY: side by side
| NUW (Nuveen AMT-Free Municipal Value Fund) | SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +5.9% | +20.6% |
| 5-year return | -1.6% | +82.4% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 8.7% | 14.5% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.15 | 1.00 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -7.7% | -18.8% |
| Market cap | $0.2B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 16.0 | – |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | 1.01% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.09% |
| Assets under management | – | $795.3B |
| Sector / category | US Listed | ETF · US Large Cap |
SPY is a Large Blend fund from State Street Investment Management: $795.3B under management, 504 holdings, a 0.09% expense ratio, a 1.01% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | NUW | SPY |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -15.2% | -18.2% |
| 2023 | +3.8% | +26.2% |
| 2024 | +3.6% | +24.9% |
| 2025 | +9.9% | +17.7% |
| 2026 | -0.0% | +13.7% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are NUW and SPY good diversifiers for each other?
Reasonably. At 0.26, NUW and SPY keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
FAQ
What is the correlation between NUW and SPY?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.26 over 3 years, with 0.41 over the last year and 0.37 over 5 years.
Is SPY a good diversifier for NUW?
Reasonably. At 0.26, NUW and SPY keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
What does a correlation of 0.26 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/nuw-vs-spy.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/nuw-vs-spy/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: NUW correlations · SPY correlations
