FinallyRetired
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2002
- Messages
- 1,322
I feel dumb asking this, but can one of you financial types here explain how TIPS funds calculate returns and why they are so volatile?
I'm looking at TIP -- the Barclays iShares TIPS fund. It shows a 52 wk high of 112.11 and a 52 wk low of 84.14. That's a 25% swing. But the 1 Yr return is quoted at only -0.53% market and -3.61% NAV. That's quite a roller coaster ride for a fund invested in what should be pretty safe instruments.
Is it because money moves in and out so quickly that the fund has to buy/sell TIPS at whatever the market price is? If so, it seems that TIPS funds might be good when inflation takes off, or for a long term hold, but in the short term one could get a pretty good haircut. Am I missing something here?
I'm looking at TIP -- the Barclays iShares TIPS fund. It shows a 52 wk high of 112.11 and a 52 wk low of 84.14. That's a 25% swing. But the 1 Yr return is quoted at only -0.53% market and -3.61% NAV. That's quite a roller coaster ride for a fund invested in what should be pretty safe instruments.
Is it because money moves in and out so quickly that the fund has to buy/sell TIPS at whatever the market price is? If so, it seems that TIPS funds might be good when inflation takes off, or for a long term hold, but in the short term one could get a pretty good haircut. Am I missing something here?
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