IBIM vs STIP

IBIMCiShares iBonds Oct 2036 Term TIPS ETF

STIPAiShares 0-5 Year TIPS Bond 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.

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

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.

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

• 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%.

• 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

• 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.

• 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 IBIM profile⁠

Full STIP profile⁠