SPY vs WTW: Correlation
SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and Willis Towers Watson (WTW) 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 WTW?
On 3 years of weekly data the SPY/WTW correlation comes out at 0.20, weak. Recent behaviour matches the longer record: 0.18 over 1 year against 0.20 over 3. The 5-year figure is 0.39, and annualized covariance runs at 67.9 %².
Within SPY's tracked universe of 4755 assets, WTW comes in at #3301 by 3-year correlation. Correlation aside, the last 12 months split them widely, with SPY ahead by 16.4 points (+20.6% versus +4.2%). Do not treat this figure as fixed: across three years the rolling one-year correlation ranged all the way from -0.03 to 0.55. Note the risk asymmetry: WTW runs 1.6 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 WTW: side by side
| SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust) | WTW (Willis Towers Watson) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +20.6% | +4.2% |
| 5-year return | +82.4% | +68.3% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 14.5% | 23.5% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 1.00 | 0.32 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -18.8% | -30.4% |
| Market cap | – | $31.5B |
| P/E (trailing) | – | 21.2 |
| Dividend yield | 1.01% | 0.55% |
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | – |
| Assets under management | $795.3B | – |
| Sector / category | ETF · US Large Cap | Financials |
On the fund side, SPY sits in the Large Blend category at State Street Investment Management, with $795.3B under management, 504 holdings, a 0.09% expense ratio, a 1.01% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | SPY | WTW |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -18.2% | +4.5% |
| 2023 | +26.2% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | +24.9% | +31.5% |
| 2025 | +17.7% | +6.1% |
| 2026 | +13.7% | +4.1% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are SPY and WTW good diversifiers for each other?
Reasonably. At 0.20, SPY and WTW keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
FAQ
What is the correlation between SPY and WTW?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.20 over 3 years, with 0.18 over the last year and 0.39 over 5 years.
Is WTW a good diversifier for SPY?
Reasonably. At 0.20, SPY and WTW keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
What does a correlation of 0.20 mean?
A reading of 0.20 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-wtw.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/spy-vs-wtw/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: SPY correlations · WTW correlations
