As investors start to ponder the potential inflationary ramifications of the ongoing Fed policies, State Street Gloabl Advisors, the money manager behind the line of SPDR exchange traded funds, has petitioned to launch two new Treasury Inflation Protected Securities funds.
According to a Securities and Exchange Commission regulatory filing, SSgA is planning a SPDR Barclays 0-5 Year TIPS ETF and a SPDR Barclays 1-10 Year TIPS ETF. The two new funds would allow Treasury investors to hedge against inflation over the short- and medium-term.
Treasury inflation protected securities, or “TIPS,” adjust their principal based on changes in the consumer price index – if the CPI rises, principal payments also rise to help mitigate the effects of inflation on bond returns. TIPS are backed by the federal government.
TIPS, though, have fallen recently along with nominal Treasuries as yields rise. [TIPS ETFs: Watch Out if Rates Rise Faster than Inflation]
State Street currently offers the SPDR Barclays TIPS ETF (NYSEArca: IPE). IPE tracks the performance of the Barclays U.S. government Inflation-linked Bond Index, which holds TIPS that have at least1 year remaining to maturity. Holdings have an average maturity of 9.87 years. The ETF has a -0.13% 30-day SEC yield. [TIPS ETF with Negative Yield Sees Outflow]