ETF Evaluator: Vanguard Short-Term Infl-Prot Secs ETF () Follow This ETF

Vanguard Short-Term Infl-Prot Secs ETF Overview

Vanguard Short-Term Infl-Prot Secs ETF (VTIP) is a passively managed Taxable Bond Short-Term Inflation-Protected Bond exchange-traded fund (ETF). Vanguard launched the ETF in 2012.

The investment seeks to track the performance of a Bloomberg U.S. 0-5 Year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities Index that measures the investment return of inflation-protected public obligations of the U.S. Treasury with remaining maturities of less than 5 years. The index is a market-capitalization-weighted index that includes all inflation-protected public obligations issued by the U.S. Treasury with remaining maturities of less than 5 years.

About Vanguard Short-Term Infl-Prot Secs ETF (VTIP)

There are 1 members of the management team with an average tenure of 13.81 years: Joshua Barrickman (2012). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg US TIPS 0-5 Year TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Vanguard Short-Term Infl-Prot Secs ETF has 27 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 49.9% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

Vanguard Short-Term Infl-Prot Secs ETF is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond ETF group. Vanguard Short-Term Infl-Prot Secs ETF has 0.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0% There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 95.2% (95.2% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Vanguard Short-Term Infl-Prot Secs ETF has 4.8% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $19 billion in total assets, which is above the $3 billion average for the Short-Term Inflation-Protected Bond category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

VTIP Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Vanguard Short-Term Infl-Prot Secs ETF expense ratio is low compared to funds in the Short-Term Inflation-Protected Bond category. Vanguard Short-Term Infl-Prot Secs ETF has an expense ratio of 0.03%, which is 77% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a A. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Vanguard Short-Term Infl-Prot Secs ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 25%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 38% for the Short-Term Inflation-Protected Bond category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, Vanguard Short-Term Infl-Prot Secs ETF returned 0.2%, which earned it a grade of D, as the Short-Term Inflation-Protected Bond category had an average return of 0.2%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.

Vanguard Short-Term Infl-Prot Secs ETF has a trailing yield of 4.16%, which is below the 4.76% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

Vanguard Short-Term Infl-Prot Secs ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 1.8%, 0.1 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 3.5% over the past year (grade of A), 5.0% over the past three years (grade of A) and 3.1% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 3.1% per year over the past 10 years (grade of B).

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