NZF vs SHY: Correlation
How closely do Nuveen Municipal Credit Income Fund (NZF) and iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF (SHY) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.51, which is moderate.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are NZF and SHY?
Across a 3-year window, the weekly returns of NZF and SHY correlate at 0.51, moderate. The relationship has been stable: the 1-year correlation (0.46) sits close to the 3-year figure. Stretching to 5 years gives 0.41, with an annualized covariance of 9.3 %².
Within NZF's tracked universe of 25 assets, SHY comes in at #20 by 3-year correlation. On 12-month performance NZF holds a 8.3-point edge, +10.8% against +2.5%. One caveat on sizing: NZF is 7.2 times as volatile as the other leg, so an equal-dollar split is far from equal-risk.
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.
NZF vs SHY: side by side
| NZF (Nuveen Municipal Credit Income Fund) | SHY (iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +10.8% | +2.5% |
| 5-year return | -4.1% | +9.6% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 11.6% | 1.6% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.30 | 0.00 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -12.4% | -1.0% |
| Market cap | $2.4B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 13.5 | – |
| Dividend yield | 7.80% | 3.65% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.15% |
| Assets under management | – | $25.1B |
| Sector / category | US Listed | ETF · Bonds |
SHY, iShares's Short Government fund, carries $25.1B under management, a 0.15% expense ratio, a 3.65% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | NZF | SHY |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -25.5% | -3.9% |
| 2023 | +2.5% | +4.2% |
| 2024 | +10.1% | +3.9% |
| 2025 | +11.8% | +5.0% |
| 2026 | +2.4% | +1.1% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are NZF and SHY good diversifiers for each other?
Somewhat, no more. With 0.51 correlation, most large moves hit both names, and the diversification benefit stays modest.
FAQ
What is the correlation between NZF and SHY?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.51 over 3 years, with 0.46 over the last year and 0.41 over 5 years.
Is SHY a good diversifier for NZF?
Somewhat, no more. With 0.51 correlation, most large moves hit both names, and the diversification benefit stays modest.
What does a correlation of 0.51 mean?
A reading of 0.51 sits on a scale from −1 (opposite moves) through 0 (unrelated) to +1 (identical moves). Correlation captures direction, not magnitude or performance.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/nzf-vs-shy.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/nzf-vs-shy/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: NZF correlations · SHY correlations
