IBIG vs STIP

IBIGBiShares iBonds Oct 2030 Term TIPS ETF

STIPAiShares 0-5 Year TIPS Bond ETF

In short

IBIG Most target-maturity bond funds hand you a fixed nominal payout. IBIG fills the same dated slot with US Treasury inflation-protected bonds maturing in 2030, so the principal underneath moves with CPI. A ladder rung with an inflation clause.

STIP The short-fuse inflation hedge. STIP holds only inflation-linked Treasuries maturing inside five years, keeping the inflation link while sidestepping most of the long-bond rate swings. Three basis points a year.

Stated mandate

IBIG The fund is designed to follow an index of U.S. Treasury inflation-protected securities that mature in 2030.

STIP The fund seeks to track an index of U.S. Treasury inflation-protected securities with maturities under five years, offering inflation hedging while managing duration risk.

Why people hold it

• IBIG The inflation-linked corner of a mostly nominal category: it follows the ICE 2030 Maturity US Inflation-Linked Treasury Index, so TIPS principal adjusts with CPI while the maturity year stays fixed.
• 0.10% a year, level with the median target-maturity bond fund, for a portfolio of US Treasury paper. No credit spread, no currency layer.
• Everything inside matures in the same year, so duration winds down as 2030 approaches and the fund stacks cleanly alongside other dated rungs such as IBTJ or BSCU.

• STIP Three basis points a year, roughly a quarter of the typical fee in its Treasury ETF group. On cost, this is near the floor for bond funds.
• Maturities capped under five years by design, so the inflation adjustment stays and the long-duration price swings largely do not.
• Running since 2010, a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively. Plain index construction, US Treasuries only.
• Sits in the upper half of the Treasury bond ETFs we cover, one of the stronger short-maturity builds in that group.

Worth knowing

• IBIG Thinly traded and small next to the nominal iBonds funds. The bid-ask spread is part of what you pay, especially in size.
• Only a handful of TIPS mature in any single year, so this is a short list of bonds, not a broad index.
• Payouts arrive quarterly and ride on inflation adjustments, so they are uneven. When inflation runs cool, nominal Treasuries of the same maturity can out-yield TIPS.

• STIP Short bonds accrue less inflation compensation than long-dated TIPS, and prices still move with real yields. This is a dampened hedge, not a pure one.
• Distributions are irregular. Payouts ride the inflation adjustment, so income arrives lumpy rather than as a steady check.
• Around 25 bonds, all at the front of the curve. SCHP spans the full TIPS maturity range for the same 0.03%.

Full IBIG profile⁠

Full STIP profile⁠