IBIM vs SCHP

IBIMCiShares iBonds Oct 2036 Term TIPS ETF

SCHPASchwab US TIPS ETF

In short

IBIM A bond-ladder rung with inflation protection built in. IBIM tracks an index of Treasury TIPS maturing in 2036, giving the sleeve a defined end date instead of a fund that rolls its bonds forever.

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

IBIM The fund seeks to track an index of U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) maturing in 2036. It is designed to provide inflation protection, support bond-ladder construction, and manage interest-rate risk with a defined maturity.

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

• IBIM Inflation-linked Treasuries plus a defined maturity, a pairing that's uncommon in a target-maturity aisle dominated by corporate and nominal Treasury rungs.
• Purpose-built as a ladder rung: the bonds inside mature together in 2036, which is how iShares frames it for laddering and managing interest-rate risk.ishares.com
• Charges 0.10%, the median fee for target-maturity bond ETFs, though sibling nominal-Treasury rungs such as IBTJ come cheaper at 0.07%.

• 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

• IBIM Small and lightly traded, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than on large Treasury funds.
• A 2026 launch means the track record is thin, and the fund currently sits in the lower half of its target-maturity peer group.
• Narrow by design: one maturity year of US TIPS, not a broad bond sleeve, and distributions arrive annually or semiannually rather than monthly.

• 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 IBIM profile⁠

Full SCHP profile⁠