PCN vs QQQ: Correlation
How closely do Pimco Corporate & Income Strategy Fund (PCN) and Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.37, which is moderate.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are PCN and QQQ?
Over the past 3 years, PCN and QQQ moved with a correlation of 0.37, which is moderate. The past 12 months show a tighter link (0.51) than the 3-year average (0.37). Over 5 years the correlation is 0.49, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 108.4 %².
Among the 11 assets we track against PCN, QQQ sits near the bottom by co-movement, at rank #7. Their recent paths diverged sharply: over the last 12 months QQQ outperformed by 25.2 percentage points (+1.1% for PCN against +26.3% for QQQ).
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.
PCN vs QQQ: side by side
| PCN (Pimco Corporate & Income Strategy Fund) | QQQ (Invesco QQQ Trust) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +1.1% | +26.3% |
| 5-year return | +8.7% | +95.4% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 14.8% | 19.6% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.48 | 1.28 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -22.0% | -22.8% |
| Market cap | – | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 9.2 | – |
| Dividend yield | 11.51% | 0.44% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.18% |
| Assets under management | – | $452.8B |
| Sector / category | US Listed | ETF · US Growth & Tech |
QQQ is a Large Growth fund from Invesco: $452.8B under management, 104 holdings, a 0.18% expense ratio, a 0.44% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | PCN | QQQ |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -22.9% | -32.6% |
| 2023 | +16.3% | +54.9% |
| 2024 | +19.6% | +25.6% |
| 2025 | +5.6% | +20.8% |
| 2026 | -0.5% | +17.7% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are PCN and QQQ good diversifiers for each other?
Yes, to a useful degree: a correlation of 0.37 leaves real independence between the two, which historically damped combined volatility.
FAQ
What is the correlation between PCN and QQQ?
The PCN/QQQ correlation stands at 0.37 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.51, 5 years: 0.49), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is QQQ a good diversifier for PCN?
Yes, to a useful degree: a correlation of 0.37 leaves real independence between the two, which historically damped combined volatility.
What does a correlation of 0.37 mean?
A reading of 0.37 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/pcn-vs-qqq.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/pcn-vs-qqq/)
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Related comparisons
Hubs: PCN correlations · QQQ correlations
