IBIJ vs STIP

IBIJBiShares iBonds Oct 2033 Term TIPS ETF

STIPAiShares 0-5 Year TIPS Bond ETF

In short

IBIJ Most target-maturity bond funds bundle corporate or plain Treasury paper. This one holds inflation-linked Treasuries with a 2033 maturity year stamped on the label, so the CPI adjustment comes with an end date instead of a perpetual roll.

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

IBIJ The fund seeks to track an index composed of U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities maturing in 2033.

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

• IBIJ Tracks an index of U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities maturing in 2033: the inflation adjustment of TIPS inside a dated, term-structured wrapper.
• Charges 0.10%, in line with the median target-maturity bond fund, for what is a narrower and less common corner of that shelf.
• Rules-based and fully indexed to the ICE 2033 Maturity US Inflation-Linked Treasury Index. No manager picking bonds, no drift into other maturity years.
• Sits in the upper half of its target-maturity peer group on our review, with high confidence in the mandate evidence behind it.

• 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

• IBIJ Thinly traded and modest in size, so spreads can be wider than the household-name bond ETFs. Limit orders matter more here.
• Inflation-linked does not mean price-stable: before 2033, TIPS values still move with real yields.
• Cheaper dated Treasury options exist in the same cohort (IBTJ at 0.07%), but they carry no inflation adjustment. Different job, different price.

• 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 IBIJ profile⁠

Full STIP profile⁠