TIPX vs VTIP

TIPXBState Street SPDR Bloomberg 1-10 Year TIPS ETF

VTIPAVanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities ETF

In short

TIPX Inflation-linked Treasuries with the long end lopped off. TIPX tracks a Bloomberg index capped at 10-year maturities, keeping the CPI linkage without the price swings of the longest-dated bonds.

VTIP Inflation protection without the long-bond whiplash. VTIP holds only Treasury TIPS maturing inside five years, so CPI does most of the driving and rate swings do less of it, for three basis points a year.

Stated mandate

TIPX The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Bloomberg 1-10 Year U.S Government Inflation-Linked Bond Index.

VTIP Tracks a benchmark measuring the investment return of U.S. Treasury inflation-protected public obligations with remaining maturities under five years.

Why people hold it

• TIPX Maturities stop at 10 years, trimming the longest inflation-linked Treasuries (the ones that move most on rate shifts) while keeping the CPI linkage.ssga.com
• A plain index fund since 2013: one Bloomberg benchmark, State Street plumbing, a multi-billion-dollar asset base and moderate daily trading volume.
• Holds a few dozen US government inflation-linked bonds directly, so no corporate credit rides along with the inflation hedge.

• VTIP Three basis points a year, against a 0.12% median for Treasury bond ETFs in its group. Vanguard's at-cost setup shows up right in the fee line.vanguard.com
• TIPS principal ratchets with CPI, and the under-five-year maturity cap keeps duration short, so rate moves land lighter here than in full-curve TIPS funds like SCHP.vanguard.com
• Open since 2012 and now a multi-billion-dollar, actively traded fund that owns Treasury paper directly. Plain index rules, no swaps, no credit detours.

Worth knowing

• TIPX The 0.15% fee sits above the typical Treasury-fund charge and well above broad TIPS options like SCHP at 0.03%. The maturity cap is what the extra buys.
• Distributions come on an irregular schedule and move with inflation adjustments, so this is not a steady, predictable income stream.
• Cutting the long end cuts both ways: less price movement from rate swings, but also less response when long-run inflation expectations shift.

• VTIP Short maturities cut both ways: less sensitivity to rates, and less exposure to shifts in long-run inflation expectations than a full-maturity TIPS fund such as SCHP.
• Income rides on CPI accruals, so the quarterly payout moves around rather than arriving as a steady coupon.
• This is one narrow slice of one market, short US Treasury TIPS, not a diversified bond portfolio.

Full TIPX profile⁠

Full VTIP profile⁠