TIP: iShares TIPS Bond ETF
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. Fund facts checked October 16, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.
- Yearly fee
- 0.18%
- about $18 on $10,000
- Return per year
- 3.4%
- since December 2003
- Worst drop
- −14.5%
- since 2003
- Started trading
- Dec 2003
- iShares (BlackRock)
Key points
- Expense ratio: 0.18% a year (about $18 on $10,000).
- Started trading on December 4, 2003.
- Worst drop since 2003: −14.5%.
- 7 Tactfolio classic strategies hold it.
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 |
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.
You never get a bill for it. The fund takes the fee out of its own value a little each day.
How has TIP done since 2003?#
From December 2003 to October 2026, TIP returned about 3.4% a year. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $21,395 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.
| Measure | TIP |
|---|---|
| Total return | 113.9% |
| Return per year (CAGR) | 3.4% |
| Worst drop from a high | −14.5% |
| Volatility (how much it swings) | 6.1% |
| Last 12 months | −1.6% |
| Last 3 years, per year | 4.1% |
| Last 5 years, per year | −0.1% |
| Last 10 years, per year | 2.2% |
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 year#
| Year | TIP return |
|---|---|
| 2026 (part of the year) | −0.7% |
| 2025 | 6.8% |
| 2024 | 1.7% |
| 2023 | 3.8% |
| 2022 | −12.3% |
| 2021 | 5.7% |
| 2020 | 10.8% |
| 2019 | 8.3% |
| 2018 | −1.4% |
| 2017 | 2.9% |
| 2016 | 4.7% |
| 2015 | −1.8% |
| 2014 | 3.6% |
| 2013 | −8.5% |
| 2012 | 6.4% |
| 2011 | 13.3% |
| 2010 | 6.1% |
| 2009 | 8.9% |
| 2008 | 0.1% |
| 2007 | 11.9% |
| 2006 | 0.3% |
| 2005 | 2.5% |
| 2004 | 8.3% |
| 2003 (part of the year) | 0.0% |
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.
The chart shows how far below its last high the fund was on each day. Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.
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), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2023
- HAA Simple: Hybrid Asset Allocation with one asset, by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2023
- Bold Asset Allocation (BAA), by Wouter Keller, 2022
- Bold Asset Allocation G4 (BAA aggressive), by Wouter Keller, 2022
- Trinity Portfolio (Meb Faber), by Mebane Faber, 2016
- HAA 60/40 (NLX Finance’s Hybrid Asset Allocation variant), by Nicolas Lequeux (NLX Finance), 2024
- Paul Novell’s Tactical Bond Strategy, by Paul Novell, 2014
How does TIP compare with similar ETFs?#
Funds that can stand in for TIP:
- SCHP: Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF, 0.03% a year
- VTIP: Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities ETF, 0.03% a year
- VGIT: Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury ETF, 0.03% a year
- IEF: iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF, 0.15% a year
See all 8 TIP alternatives, 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, 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. 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.
Fund facts come from iShares (BlackRock). We checked them on October 16, 2026. Read what a backtest simulates and how to read drawdown and CAGR for more on these measures.
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.
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).