SPY vs STRA: Correlation
SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and Strategic Education, Inc. (STRA) show a moderate relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.33.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are SPY and STRA?
Over the past 3 years, SPY and STRA moved with a correlation of 0.33, which is moderate. Lately the two have drifted apart, with the 1-year correlation at 0.20 versus 0.33 over 3 years. Over 5 years the correlation is 0.38, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 167.2 %².
Within SPY's tracked universe of 4755 assets, STRA comes in at #1906 by 3-year correlation. Over the last 12 months SPY came out ahead by 12.5 percentage points (+20.6% against +8.1%). Note the risk asymmetry: STRA runs 2.4 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.
SPY vs STRA: side by side
| SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust) | STRA (Strategic Education, Inc.) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +20.6% | +8.1% |
| 5-year return | +82.4% | +27.6% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 14.5% | 34.7% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 1.00 | 0.80 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -18.8% | -38.1% |
| Market cap | – | $1.9B |
| P/E (trailing) | – | 14.2 |
| Dividend yield | 1.01% | 2.81% |
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | – |
| Assets under management | $795.3B | – |
| Sector / category | ETF · US Large Cap | US Listed |
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 | SPY | STRA |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -18.2% | +40.4% |
| 2023 | +26.2% | +21.4% |
| 2024 | +24.9% | +3.5% |
| 2025 | +17.7% | -11.6% |
| 2026 | +13.7% | +8.3% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are SPY and STRA good diversifiers for each other?
Reasonably. At 0.33, SPY and STRA keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
FAQ
What is the correlation between SPY and STRA?
The SPY/STRA correlation stands at 0.33 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.20, 5 years: 0.38), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is STRA a good diversifier for SPY?
Reasonably. At 0.33, SPY and STRA keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
What does a correlation of 0.33 mean?
A reading of 0.33 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/spy-vs-stra.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/spy-vs-stra/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: SPY correlations · STRA correlations
