Board/The rate regime/VTIP

VTIP

Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities ETF

Vanguard · $19.89bn in assets, August 12, 2026

Owns US Treasury inflation-protected bonds (TIPS) with less than five years left before they mature, weighted by size.

VTIP, the Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities ETF, is a $19.9 billion ETF whose main story is the rate regime. Over the past year it returned +1.4%, against +16.8% for broad US ETFs. Figures to October 2, 2026; past performance, not a recommendation.

VTIP · the ETFFRI OCT 2Market price total return
+2.1% a yearTotal return since launch, October 2012
+1.4%Last 12 months
+1.1%Year to date
2.5%Volatility since launch

The narrative it carries

Its main narrative, at 0.7 of its exposure.

The rate regime →

Bonds, cash and Treasuries: the interest rates every other asset is priced against.

The rate regime · the narrative this week
57.8HOT level, 3 of 22
last four weeks
424ETFs carry it
27.8%held by the top five
BNDlargest holder, 7.6%
$1,607 bncapital, 2nd of 22

The band is where this narrative’s level sits among the 22 this week. QUIET means less talked about, not falling.

Who owns the capital
BND 7.6%SGOV 7.5%AGG 6.3%BIL 3.3%TLT 3.1%419 other ETFs 72.2%27.8%top five
#ETFSHAREASSETS1 YEARCOST
1BND7.6%$161.78bn−2.1%0.03%
2SGOV7.5%$112.26bn+3.8%0.09%
3AGG6.3%$135.65bn−2.2%0.03%
4BIL3.3%$49.79bn+3.7%0.14%
5TLT3.1%$46.23bn−9.5%0.15%
419 other ETFs72.2%
VTIP: 0.9%

Share is each ETF’s slice of the capital carrying this narrative. 1 year is market price total return; cost is the expense ratio. See all 424 ETFs on the narrative page →

Also carries: Hard asset flight →

Gold, silver and the miners: assets held because no government issues them.

Exposure 0.3 · level 55.8 WARM, 7th of 22 · VTIP holds 1.5% of its capital

FRI OCT 2MARKET PRICE TOTAL RETURN

1M3MYTD1Y3Y*5Y*
VTIP−0.7%−0.5%+1.1%+1.4%+4.9%+2.9%
The rate regimeits narrative−1.6%−2.2%−1.2%−0.6%+4.3%+0.5%
The marketbroad US ETFs+0.8%+2.6%+14.6%+16.8%+22.9%+12.9%

1M, 3M, 1Y, 3Y, 5Y: one month to five years. YTD: year to date. * A year, annualised. A dash means the ETF has not traded for the whole period. Since it started trading on October 16, 2012: +2.1% a year.

$10,000 invested October 31, 2016

VTIP $13,373The rate regime $11,809The market $42,209
$0$10,000$20,000$30,000$40,000$50,000Oct 2016Oct 2018Oct 2020Oct 2022Oct 2024$0$10,000$20,000$30,000$40,000$50,000Oct 2016Oct 2020Oct 2024

Year by year

VTIPThe rate regimeThe market
-20%0%20%40%VTIP 2019: +4.9%Narrative 2019: +7.2%The market 2019: +31.3%2019VTIP 2020: +4.9%Narrative 2020: +6.8%The market 2020: +21.4%2020VTIP 2021: +5.4%Narrative 2021: -1.0%The market 2021: +27.1%2021VTIP 2022: -3.0%Narrative 2022: -9.4%The market 2022: -19.8%2022VTIP 2023: +4.6%Narrative 2023: +5.4%The market 2023: +27.9%2023VTIP 2024: +4.7%Narrative 2024: +2.6%The market 2024: +23.1%2024VTIP 2025: +6.1%Narrative 2025: +6.2%The market 2025: +16.8%2025VTIP YTD: +1.1%Narrative YTD: -1.2%The market YTD: +14.6%YTD-20%0%20%40%VTIP 2019: +4.9%Narrative 2019: +7.2%The market 2019: +31.3%2019VTIP 2020: +4.9%Narrative 2020: +6.8%The market 2020: +21.4%2020VTIP 2021: +5.4%Narrative 2021: -1.0%The market 2021: +27.1%2021VTIP 2022: -3.0%Narrative 2022: -9.4%The market 2022: -19.8%2022VTIP 2023: +4.6%Narrative 2023: +5.4%The market 2023: +27.9%2023VTIP 2024: +4.7%Narrative 2024: +2.6%The market 2024: +23.1%2024VTIP 2025: +6.1%Narrative 2025: +6.2%The market 2025: +16.8%2025VTIP YTD: +1.1%Narrative YTD: -1.2%The market YTD: +14.6%YTD

Total return in each calendar year; this year is year to date. A year appears only if VTIP traded for all of it.

Total return on the market price, with each distribution reinvested on its ex-date. Not the NAV return the issuer publishes; the two differ when the ETF trades above or below the value of its holdings. The narrative is the asset-weighted return of the unlevered ETFs that carry it. The market is the asset-weighted return of broad US index ETFs. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Common questions

What story is VTIP selling?

VTIP’s main story is the rate regime, which covers bonds, cash and Treasuries: the interest rates every other asset is priced against. Its second is hard asset flight.

Which ETFs compete with VTIP?

The ETFs whose weekly returns move most like VTIP’s over the past 3 years are STIP (0.99), PBTP (0.99) and STPZ (0.98).

How has VTIP performed against its story?

Over the past year VTIP returned +1.4%, the ETFs carrying the rate regime −0.6% and broad US ETFs +16.8%, to October 2, 2026. Its weekly returns have a correlation of 0.70 with the story. Past performance only.

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Narrative figures are from the weekly board. Performance is market price total return as of October 2, 2026. Assets are StoryVector’s weekly figure. Classification and measurement. Not investment advice. How the measurement works →