SPY vs USBC: Correlation
SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and USBC, Inc. (USBC) show a weak relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.20.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are SPY and USBC?
On 3 years of weekly data the SPY/USBC correlation comes out at 0.20, weak. Recent behaviour matches the longer record: 0.26 over 1 year against 0.20 over 3. The 5-year figure is 0.16, and annualized covariance runs at 569.2 %².
By 3-year correlation, USBC places #3296 of the 4755 assets tracked against SPY. Their recent paths diverged sharply: over the last 12 months SPY outperformed by 78.3 percentage points (+20.6% for SPY against -57.7% for USBC). One caveat on sizing: USBC is 13.3 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.
SPY vs USBC: side by side
| SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust) | USBC (USBC, Inc.) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +20.6% | -57.7% |
| 5-year return | +82.4% | -99.5% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 14.5% | 193.2% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 1.00 | 2.72 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -18.8% | -99.2% |
| Market cap | – | $0.2B |
| P/E (trailing) | – | – |
| Dividend yield | 1.01% | 0.00% |
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | – |
| Assets under management | $795.3B | – |
| Sector / category | ETF · US Large Cap | US Listed |
SPY, State Street Investment Management's Large Blend fund, carries $795.3B under management, 504 holdings, a 0.09% expense ratio, a 1.01% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | SPY | USBC |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -18.2% | -5.9% |
| 2023 | +26.2% | -68.1% |
| 2024 | +24.9% | -66.7% |
| 2025 | +17.7% | -90.7% |
| 2026 | +13.7% | -29.5% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are SPY and USBC good diversifiers for each other?
A fair diversifier. At 0.20, enough of each asset's movement is its own that the pair has smoothed outcomes historically.
FAQ
What is the correlation between SPY and USBC?
The SPY/USBC correlation stands at 0.20 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.26, 5 years: 0.16), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is USBC a good diversifier for SPY?
A fair diversifier. At 0.20, enough of each asset's movement is its own that the pair has smoothed outcomes historically.
What does a correlation of 0.20 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.20 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/spy-vs-usbc.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/spy-vs-usbc/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: SPY correlations · USBC correlations
