Measure
Beta
Sensitivity of a fund's returns to its reference market. Formula: β = cov(r_p, r_m) / var(r_m).
Definition
Sensitivity of a fund's returns to its reference market.
Formula
β = cov(r_p, r_m) / var(r_m)
How to read it
A beta of 1.2 means the fund has historically moved 1.2× the market's move, on average.
Measured on real funds
15Beta against VTI, computed only on the months the two series share.
| Fund | Beta vs VTI | Sample |
|---|---|---|
| SMH | 1.47 | 303 shared months |
| XLK | 1.19 | 303 shared months |
| QQQ | 1.18 | 303 shared months |
| VGT | 1.16 | 272 shared months |
| VUG | 1.04 | 272 shared months |
| VT | 1 | 219 shared months |
| VOO | 0.97 | 192 shared months |
| VWO | 0.97 | 258 shared months |
| VEA | 0.97 | 230 shared months |
| VTV | 0.9 | 272 shared months |
| VXUS | 0.87 | 188 shared months |
| VIG | 0.81 | 244 shared months |
| SCHD | 0.8 | 179 shared months |
| BND | 0.07 | 233 shared months |
| AGG | 0.07 | 276 shared months |
Computed from Yahoo Finance monthly total return, recomputed with every update of the site. How these figures are produced.
What it does not tell you
It is one number summarising a relationship that changes with regime, and it is measured against one market. It says nothing about the risk that is unrelated to that market — which for a sector or single-country fund is most of it.
Applied in 91 articles
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Every figure computed with this measure on this site follows the conventions set out in the methodology. All measures →