LTPZ vs SCHP

LTPZCPIMCO 15+ Year U.S. TIPS Index Exchange-Traded Fund

SCHPASchwab US TIPS ETF

In short

LTPZ Inflation protection with the duration dial cranked all the way up. LTPZ holds only TIPS maturing in 15 years or more, so it swings on long-term real yields far more than a whole-curve inflation fund.

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

LTPZ The fund seeks total returns that closely track, before fees and expenses, the return of its specified index. It uses representative sampling to obtain exposure to that index.

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

• LTPZ Owns only Treasury inflation-linked bonds maturing in 15 years or more, the long slice that broad TIPS funds dilute with short notes.pimco.com
• Rules-based, not a curve-timing bet: it samples the 15+ year U.S. inflation-linked Treasury index instead of leaving maturity calls to a manager.pimco.com
• Has run the same long-TIPS mandate since launching in 2009, a track record spanning very different rate and inflation regimes.

• 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

• LTPZ At 0.20% a year it costs more than the typical Treasury bond ETF, and whole-curve TIPS options such as SCHP charge a fraction of that.
• Long maturities cut both ways. When long-term real yields rise, prices drop hard. Inflation-linked does not mean price-stable.pimco.com
• Mid-sized and moderately traded, so spreads can show up in your fill price, and its payouts land irregularly rather than on a set schedule.

• 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 LTPZ profile⁠

Full SCHP profile⁠