|
Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS)
are US Treasury securities
that are structured to protect investors from inflation. The Treasury has
auctioned 5-, 10- and 20-year TIPS, but issues may be suspended for a
period. TIPS pay semiannual coupons. Their
principal is indexed to
inflation, and this is how TIPS differ from
Treasury notes and
Treasury bonds. A
TIPS' coupon yield is fixed at the time of issuance, but it is applied to
the inflation-adjusted principal, so coupons fluctuate with inflation. At
maturity, investors receive the final coupon and the greater of the
inflation-adjusted principal or the original principal.
Inflation adjustments are calculated based on
non-seasonally adjusted US City Average All Items Consumer Price Index
for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), published monthly by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS).
Inflation-adjusted bonds are issued by other governments,
including the Australian, British, Canadian and French governments.
Although it is not a standardized practice, the acronym TIPS is
occasionally used to refer to any inflation-adjusted bond.
|
|