ICPI vs STIP

ICPI—iShares 0-1 Year TIPS Bond ETF

STIPAiShares 0-5 Year TIPS Bond ETF

In short

ICPI Most of the T-bill aisle pays a nominal yield and hopes inflation behaves. ICPI holds the shortest inflation-protected Treasuries on the curve, one year or less, so principal moves with CPI while rate risk stays small.

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

ICPI The fund seeks to track an index of inflation-protected U.S. Treasury bonds with remaining maturities of one year or less. It is designed to provide a way to seek protection against near-term inflation.

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

• ICPI Rare mandate in a bill-fund crowd: inflation-protected U.S. Treasuries maturing in a year or less, so principal adjusts with CPI while interest-rate sensitivity stays short.ishares.com
• 0.09% expense ratio, below the median for its short-Treasury peer group.
• One job, done literally: track an index of sub-one-year TIPS, U.S. Treasury credit only, no active tinkering. Distributions land quarterly.

• 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

• ICPI A late-2025 launch with a small asset base and light trading, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than the household-name bill funds. Limit orders matter here.
• This is a CPI-linked instrument, not a yield engine. With a year or less to maturity, the inflation adjustment does most of the work, in both directions.
• Plain nominal peers like BIL and TBLL are far more heavily traded for straight cash parking. ICPI's differentiator is the inflation link, not liquidity.

• 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 ICPI profile⁠

Full STIP profile⁠