RCS vs SPY: Correlation
PIMCO Strategic Income Fund, Inc. (RCS) and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) show a moderate relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.41.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are RCS and SPY?
Over the past 3 years, RCS and SPY moved with a correlation of 0.41, which is moderate. The past 12 months show a tighter link (0.55) than the 3-year average (0.41). Over 5 years the correlation is 0.45, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 159.9 %².
Within RCS's tracked universe of 12 assets, SPY comes in at #6 by 3-year correlation. Their recent paths diverged sharply: over the last 12 months SPY outperformed by 41.4 percentage points (-20.8% for RCS against +20.6% for SPY). Risk is not evenly split, since RCS carries 1.9 times the volatility of the other side.
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.
RCS vs SPY: side by side
| RCS (PIMCO Strategic Income Fund, Inc.) | SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | -20.8% | +20.6% |
| 5-year return | +5.4% | +82.4% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 27.0% | 14.5% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.77 | 1.00 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -32.9% | -18.8% |
| Market cap | $0.2B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 6.9 | – |
| Dividend yield | 9.11% | 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 | RCS | SPY |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -19.5% | -18.2% |
| 2023 | +37.6% | +26.2% |
| 2024 | +37.5% | +24.9% |
| 2025 | -21.5% | +17.7% |
| 2026 | +0.4% | +13.7% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are RCS and SPY good diversifiers for each other?
Reasonably. At 0.41, RCS and SPY keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
FAQ
What is the correlation between RCS and SPY?
As of 2026-08-27, the correlation of weekly returns between RCS and SPY is 0.41 over 3 years, 0.55 over 1 year and 0.45 over 5 years.
Is SPY a good diversifier for RCS?
Reasonably. At 0.41, RCS and SPY keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
What does a correlation of 0.41 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/rcs-vs-spy.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/rcs-vs-spy/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: RCS correlations · SPY correlations
