DFIP vs SCHP

DFIPBDimensional Inflation-Protected Securities ETF

SCHPASchwab US TIPS ETF

In short

DFIP Dimensional's TIPS vehicle: US inflation-linked Treasuries, one job, 0.11% a year. Priced a shade under the typical Treasury-bond ETF, though plain index TIPS funds go cheaper still.

SCHP Inflation insurance in the plainest wrapper available: SCHP owns the full maturity range of Treasury inflation-protected bonds and tracks its Bloomberg index for three basis points a year.

Stated mandate

DFIP The fund seeks inflation protection and current income consistent with inflation-protected securities.

SCHP The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return of an index composed of inflation-protected U.S. Treasury securities.

Why people hold it

• DFIP One job, straight from its objective: inflation protection plus current income from inflation-protected securities. No credit detours.
• Charges 0.11% a year, just under the typical fund in its Treasury peer group.
• The portfolio stays close to what the objective promises, and the fund sits in the upper half of its Treasury cohort.
• Listed in 2021 and now a billion-dollar-plus fund, so this is no thin, untested ticker.

• SCHP 0.03% a year, a quarter of the typical Treasury-fund fee and level with the cheapest names in the group (VGIT, VCSH).
• One job, done literally: only inflation-linked US Treasuries, whose principal adjusts with the official consumer price index.
• Running since 2010, now a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively and hugs the Bloomberg Series-L index closely.
• Passive, no maturity tilt, no manager view: one of the cleaner builds among Treasury ETFs.

Worth knowing

• DFIP Index-tracking TIPS exposure comes cheaper: SCHP charges 0.03% against 0.11% here. The gap buys Dimensional's version of the job.
• Payouts arrive on an irregular schedule, not a fixed monthly check.
• Volume is moderate rather than heavy for the category, so execution costs can matter more on large orders.

• SCHP Inflation-linked is not rate-proof. This spans the whole maturity spectrum, so prices move with real yields.
• Distributions are irregular. Coupons sit on an inflation-adjusted principal, so the cash arrives lumpy, not as a steady check.
• About 50 bonds, all Uncle Sam. No credit spread, no corporate yield pickup; inflation and duration are the whole story.

Full DFIP profile⁠

Full SCHP profile⁠