PFL vs PFN: Correlation
How closely do PIMCO Income Strategy Fund Shares of Beneficial Interest (PFL) and PIMCO Income Strategy Fund II (PFN) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.89, which is very strong.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are PFL and PFN?
Over the past 3 years, PFL and PFN moved with a correlation of 0.89, which is very strong, meaning they move nearly in lockstep. Recent behaviour matches the longer record: 0.83 over 1 year against 0.89 over 3. Over 5 years the correlation is 0.90, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 130.0 %².
PFN is one of the assets that tracks PFL most closely: it ranks #1 out of the 22 assets we track against PFL. Twelve-month performance is nearly a tie, at +1.1% for PFL and +4.1% for PFN.
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.
PFL vs PFN: side by side
| PFL (PIMCO Income Strategy Fund Shares of Beneficial Interest) | PFN (PIMCO Income Strategy Fund II) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +1.1% | +4.1% |
| 5-year return | +1.9% | +9.3% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 12.0% | 12.2% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.39 | 0.40 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -11.1% | -11.1% |
| Market cap | – | $0.7B |
| P/E (trailing) | 9.6 | 13.4 |
| Dividend yield | 12.86% | 12.40% |
| Sector / category | US Listed | US Listed |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | PFL | PFN |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -18.0% | -17.6% |
| 2023 | +17.2% | +15.5% |
| 2024 | +11.4% | +15.8% |
| 2025 | +13.0% | +13.1% |
| 2026 | -2.2% | +1.0% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are PFL and PFN good diversifiers for each other?
Not really. At 0.89, the two trade almost as one position, and owning both buys little extra protection.
FAQ
What is the correlation between PFL and PFN?
The PFL/PFN correlation stands at 0.89 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.83, 5 years: 0.90), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is PFN a good diversifier for PFL?
Not really. At 0.89, the two trade almost as one position, and owning both buys little extra protection.
What does a correlation of 0.89 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.89 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/pfl-vs-pfn.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/pfl-vs-pfn/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: PFL correlations · PFN correlations
