# TIP ETF: fees, returns, drawdowns and holdings

> What TIP holds, its 0.18% yearly fee, returns by year, its worst drop, and which Tactfolio strategies hold it. Updated daily.

iShares TIPS Bond ETF (TIP) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by iShares (BlackRock). This fund holds Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, called TIPS. It charges 0.18% a year. From December 2003 to October 2026 it returned about 3.4% a year, and its worst drop was −14.5%.

Written by [the Tactfolio research team](https://tactfolio.com/about/editorial-policy). Fund facts checked October 16, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.

## Key points

- Expense ratio: 0.18% a year (about $18 on $10,000).
- Started trading on December 4, 2003.
- Last close: $105.54 on October 16, 2026.
- Return over the last year: −1.6%.
- Worst drop since 2003: −14.5%.
- 7 Tactfolio classic strategies hold it.

## How has TIP done since 2003?

From December 2003 to October 2026, TIP returned about 3.4% a year. The S&P 500 returned about 11.0% a year over the same dates. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $21,395 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

| Period | TIP | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 month | 0.1% | 1.5% |
| 3 months | −1.5% | 1.9% |
| 6 months | −1.8% | 9.3% |
| Year to date | −0.7% | 12.8% |
| 1 year | −1.6% | 16.8% |
| 3 years, per year | 4.1% | 22.0% |
| 5 years, per year | −0.1% | 12.8% |
| 10 years, per year | 2.2% | 15.4% |
| Since 2003, per year | 3.4% | 11.0% |

Periods longer than a year show the return per year (CAGR). Prices through October 16, 2026. Figures use daily closing prices adjusted for splits, with dividends reinvested. They do not include taxes or the cost of buying and selling. Past results do not tell you what will happen next.

## TIP returns by month and year

TIP rose in 172 of its 275 months (63%). Its best month was December 2008, at 6.5%. Its worst was October 2008, at −8.1%.

| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Full year |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 (part) | 0.5% | 1.3% | −1.4% | 1.1% | 0.2% | −0.5% | −0.7% | 0.0% | −2.6% | 1.4% |  |  | −0.7% |
| 2025 | 1.4% | 2.2% | 0.7% | 0.1% | −0.6% | 0.9% | 0.0% | 1.6% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.2% | −0.6% | 6.8% |
| 2024 | 0.3% | −1.1% | 0.7% | −1.7% | 1.8% | 0.8% | 1.7% | 0.8% | 1.5% | −1.8% | 0.5% | −1.7% | 1.7% |
| 2023 | 2.1% | −1.4% | 2.9% | 0.1% | −1.2% | −0.3% | 0.0% | −0.8% | −1.9% | −0.7% | 2.8% | 2.4% | 3.8% |
| 2022 | −2.1% | 0.9% | −1.9% | −2.2% | −1.0% | −3.1% | 4.3% | −2.7% | −6.7% | 1.4% | 1.8% | −1.3% | −12.3% |
| 2021 | 0.3% | −1.7% | −0.3% | 1.4% | 1.0% | 0.7% | 2.7% | −0.2% | −0.8% | 1.1% | 0.9% | 0.4% | 5.7% |
| 2020 | 2.1% | 0.9% | −1.8% | 3.0% | 0.7% | 1.0% | 2.3% | 0.9% | −0.4% | −0.7% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 10.8% |
| 2019 | 1.4% | −0.2% | 2.0% | 0.2% | 1.8% | 0.8% | 0.3% | 2.3% | −1.1% | 0.0% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 8.3% |
| 2018 | −0.9% | −1.0% | 1.0% | −0.1% | 0.3% | 0.7% | −0.5% | 0.6% | −1.0% | −1.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | −1.4% |
| 2017 | 0.9% | 0.4% | 0.0% | 0.4% | 0.0% | −0.9% | 0.5% | 1.0% | −0.7% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.9% | 2.9% |
| 2016 | 1.6% | 1.2% | 1.7% | 0.2% | −0.6% | 2.3% | 0.6% | −0.3% | 0.8% | −0.5% | −2.1% | 0.0% | 4.7% |
| 2015 | 3.2% | −1.3% | −0.5% | 0.7% | −1.0% | −1.0% | 0.5% | −0.9% | −0.5% | 0.3% | −0.1% | −1.0% | −1.8% |
| 2014 | 2.1% | 0.4% | −0.5% | 1.3% | 2.0% | 0.4% | −0.1% | 0.6% | −2.6% | 0.9% | 0.2% | −1.1% | 3.6% |
| 2013 | −0.5% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.8% | −4.2% | −3.8% | 0.9% | −1.8% | 1.8% | 0.3% | −1.1% | −1.5% | −8.5% |
| 2012 | 2.3% | −0.6% | −0.9% | 1.8% | 1.9% | −0.7% | 1.8% | −0.3% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 0.6% | −0.8% | 6.4% |
| 2011 | 0.0% | 0.7% | 1.2% | 2.4% | 0.3% | 0.8% | 3.9% | 0.6% | 0.0% | 2.1% | 0.5% | 0.2% | 13.3% |
| 2010 | 1.5% | −1.3% | 0.0% | 2.5% | 0.2% | 1.3% | −0.2% | 1.9% | 0.8% | 2.5% | −1.7% | −1.4% | 6.1% |
| 2009 | 0.0% | −2.2% | 5.9% | −1.8% | 2.0% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.8% | 2.0% | 1.1% | 2.8% | −2.1% | 8.9% |
| 2008 | 3.6% | 1.4% | −0.1% | −1.4% | 0.1% | 1.8% | −0.6% | 0.8% | −4.0% | −8.1% | 0.9% | 6.5% | 0.1% |
| 2007 | 0.2% | 2.0% | 0.3% | 0.7% | −1.3% | −0.2% | 2.3% | 0.8% | 1.3% | 1.2% | 4.1% | 0.1% | 11.9% |
| 2006 | 0.0% | 0.0% | −2.1% | −0.2% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 1.5% | 1.7% | 0.1% | −0.1% | 1.1% | −2.3% | 0.3% |
| 2005 | 0.0% | −0.5% | 0.2% | 1.8% | 0.8% | 0.5% | −2.5% | 2.5% | −0.1% | −1.3% | 0.2% | 1.0% | 2.5% |
| 2004 | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1.7% | −4.8% | 2.0% | −0.1% | 0.8% | 2.7% | 0.1% | 1.1% | −0.3% | 1.8% | 8.3% |
| 2003 (part) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 0.0% | 0.0% |

Each month runs from the last close of the month before. The first month counts from the first close.

## How risky is TIP compared with the S&P 500?

Measured from October 2021 to October 2026, on the days both traded.

- **Beta 0.07.** When the S&P 500 moved 1% in a day, TIP tended to move about 0.07%.
- **Correlation 0.20.** TIP moved mostly on its own, apart from the S&P 500.
- **Up and down months.** In months the S&P 500 rose, TIP rose 19% as much on average. In months it fell, TIP fell 34% as much.

| Measure | TIP | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Return per year | −0.1% | 12.8% |
| Volatility | 6.2% | 17.1% |
| Worst drop | −14.5% | −24.5% |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.02 | 0.79 |
| Sortino ratio | 0.03 | 1.15 |
| Calmar ratio | 0.00 | 0.52 |

Volatility is how much the price swings in a year. The Sharpe ratio is return per unit of volatility, the Sortino ratio counts only the falls, and the Calmar ratio is the return per year over the worst drop. Higher ratios mean more return for the risk taken.

## Is TIP above its 200-day average?

TIP closed 1.3% below its 200-day average on October 16, 2026. A rule that holds TIP only above that average would be out of it today.

- Its 50-day average is 1.0% below its 200-day average.
- It closed 2.5% below its highest close of the last 52 weeks.

A moving average is the average close over the last so many days. Trend rules such as [the 10-month moving average strategy](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/faber-10-month-moving-average.md) hold a fund only while it is above one. You can [build that rule for TIP](https://tactfolio.com/builder) and backtest it in a minute.

## What was TIP's worst drop?

A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. TIP's worst fall was −14.5%, from November 9, 2021 to October 6, 2023. It got back to that high on February 27, 2026. On October 16, 2026 it was 2.5% below its highest close.

| Drop | Started | Bottom | Back to the high | Fall took | Recovery took |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −14.5% | Nov 9, 2021 | Oct 6, 2023 | Feb 27, 2026 | 23 months | 2.4 years |
| −14.4% | Jul 9, 2008 | Nov 24, 2008 | Sep 30, 2009 | 5 months | 10 months |
| −11.2% | Mar 6, 2020 | Mar 18, 2020 | Apr 28, 2020 | 12 days | 41 days |
| −11.1% | Dec 10, 2012 | Sep 5, 2013 | Mar 20, 2019 | 9 months | 5.5 years |
| −6.3% | Mar 17, 2004 | May 10, 2004 | Sep 22, 2004 | 2 months | 4 months |

Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.

## What does TIP hold?

This fund holds Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, called TIPS. These are US government bonds whose value is adjusted up or down with inflation, the rise in prices of everyday things. The fund's price can still fall when interest rates rise.

It tracks the ICE U.S. Treasury Inflation Linked Bond Index. It had 48 holdings as of October 15, 2026, according to iShares (BlackRock).

| Fact | TIP |
| --- | --- |
| Full name | iShares TIPS Bond ETF |
| Issuer | iShares (BlackRock) |
| Expense ratio | 0.18% a year |
| Started trading | December 4, 2003 |
| Tracks | ICE U.S. Treasury Inflation Linked Bond Index |
| Type | US bonds, ETF |
| Holdings | 48 holdings as of October 15, 2026 |
| Facts checked | October 16, 2026 on the [iShares (BlackRock) fund page](https://www.ishares.com/us/products/239467/ishares-tips-bond-etf) |

## What is the TIP expense ratio?

TIP charges 0.18% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.18% fee comes to about $18 a year. Of the 162 ETFs on Tactfolio, 34% charge more.

You never get a bill for it. The fund takes the fee out of its own value a little each day.

## Which Tactfolio strategies hold TIP?

7 classic strategies hold TIP at least some of the time. Each is a set of written rules you can open, test and copy.

- [Hybrid Asset Allocation (HAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/hybrid-asset-allocation.md), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2023
- [HAA Simple: Hybrid Asset Allocation with one asset](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/hybrid-asset-allocation-simple.md), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2023
- [Bold Asset Allocation (BAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/bold-asset-allocation.md), by Wouter Keller, 2022
- [Bold Asset Allocation G4 (BAA aggressive)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/bold-asset-allocation-g4.md), by Wouter Keller, 2022
- [Trinity Portfolio (Meb Faber)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/trinity-portfolio.md), by Mebane Faber, 2016
- [HAA 60/40 (NLX Finance’s Hybrid Asset Allocation variant)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/haa-60-40.md), by Nicolas Lequeux (NLX Finance), 2024
- [Paul Novell's Tactical Bond Strategy](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/novell-tactical-bond-strategy.md), by Paul Novell, 2014

## How does TIP compare with similar ETFs?

Funds that can stand in for TIP:

- [SCHP](https://tactfolio.com/etf/SCHP.md): Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF, 0.03% a year
- [VTIP](https://tactfolio.com/etf/VTIP.md): Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities ETF, 0.03% a year
- [VGIT](https://tactfolio.com/etf/VGIT.md): Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury ETF, 0.03% a year
- [IEF](https://tactfolio.com/etf/IEF.md): iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF, 0.15% a year

See [all 8 TIP alternatives](https://tactfolio.com/alternatives/TIP.md), compared on the same dates as TIP.

## Test TIP in your own rules

Tactfolio is a platform where you build rules-based investing strategies, backtest them on decades of real prices, share them, and run them automatically in your own Alpaca account. Open the [builder](https://tactfolio.com/builder), add TIP, and see how a rule such as "hold it only above its 200-day average" would have done. Strategies run on daily prices and hold US stocks and ETFs only.

## The details

Prices come from Tactfolio's stored daily prices for TIP and SPY. Each close is adjusted for splits, and dividends are reinvested on the day the fund pays them out. CAGR is the steady yearly return that turns the starting value into the ending value. Volatility is the yearly standard deviation of daily returns. Beta and correlation compare daily returns with the S&P 500 over the same dates.

Fund facts come from iShares (BlackRock). We checked them on October 16, 2026. Read [what a backtest simulates](https://tactfolio.com/docs/backtests.md) and [how to read drawdown and CAGR](https://tactfolio.com/docs/concepts/reading-a-backtest.md) for more on these measures.

## Research and test it

- [Portfolio rebalancing](https://tactfolio.com/learn/portfolio-rebalancing): What portfolio rebalancing is, why a 60/40 mix drifts, calendar vs threshold methods, and how taxes and costs fit in.
- [Risk parity](https://tactfolio.com/learn/risk-parity): Risk parity balances risk instead of dollars. See a simple stock and bond example, why funds use leverage, and what went wrong in 2022.
- [ETF screener](https://tactfolio.com/screener.md): A free ETF screener for 162 US-listed funds. Filter by type, issuer and fee, sort by returns or worst drop, and compare funds side by side.
- [ETF expense ratio](https://tactfolio.com/learn/etf-expense-ratio): What an ETF expense ratio is, how the fund charges it, and how 0.03% vs 1% adds up over 10 and 30 years, with real fund examples.
- [Backtest a portfolio](https://tactfolio.com/trading-tools/backtest-portfolio): Backtest a portfolio of US stocks and ETFs. Enter tickers and shares, pick when to rebalance, and get the results with a link to share.
- [Backtesting](https://tactfolio.com/backtesting): Free backtesting software for stocks, ETFs, and crypto perps.

## Common questions

### What is the expense ratio of TIP?

TIP charges 0.18% a year, according to iShares (BlackRock) as of October 16, 2026. That is about $18 a year for every $10,000 you hold.

### When did TIP start trading?

TIP started trading on December 4, 2003. It is run by iShares (BlackRock).

### What does TIP track?

TIP tracks the ICE U.S. Treasury Inflation Linked Bond Index. This fund holds Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, called TIPS.

### How much has TIP returned per year?

From December 2003 to October 2026, TIP returned about 3.4% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −14.5%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.

### Is TIP above its 200-day moving average?

On October 16, 2026, TIP closed 1.3% below its 200-day moving average. This page updates after each US market close.

### Which strategies use TIP?

7 of Tactfolio's classic strategies hold TIP, including Hybrid Asset Allocation (HAA), HAA Simple: Hybrid Asset Allocation with one asset, Bold Asset Allocation (BAA).

## Sources

- [iShares (BlackRock): iShares TIPS Bond ETF fund page](https://www.ishares.com/us/products/239467/ishares-tips-bond-etf)

> Not financial advice. Tactfolio is a research and automation tool. It is not a broker or a financial adviser. This page is for education only. Backtests are hypothetical. They show how rules would have done on past prices, not how they will do. All investing involves risk, including losing the money you put in.