Can tips have a negative return?
TIPS prices have fallen more than the principal has adjusted higher, resulting in negative total returns for the year. TIPS are still bonds, meaning their prices and yields move in opposite directions. Like most fixed income investments this year, TIPS yields have surged, pulling their prices lower.
TIPS are still bonds, and their prices and yields move in opposite directions. The Bloomberg U.S. TIPS Index lost 5.9% through May 18, 2022. The plunge in TIPS prices was the culprit—the average price of the TIPS index closed 2021 at $114.2 and then fell to $104.0, a decline of 8.9%.
Since TIPS are issued by the U.S. Treasury and backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, they are considered low-risk investments. Additionally, there is a secondary market available for TIPS so investors can sell their securities, if needed.
The principal (called par value or face value) of a TIPS goes up with inflation and down with deflation. When a TIPS matures, you get either the increased (inflation-adjusted) price or the original principal, whichever is greater. You never get less than the original principal.
Since the onset of the pandemic, real yields on TIPS have been negative. That means once investors account for the effects of inflation on their returns, even with the inflation protection offered by TIPS, investors would be essentially losing money on their investment.
Investors continue to purchase TIPS with negative yields because they are concerned about losing the principal on their investments. Bad economic times are hard on stocks, so paying interest is less costly than losing everything.
TIPS should perform better in a rising interest rate environment than conventional Treasury bonds because their inflation adjustments provide better price protection, but only when rates are rising as a result of increasing inflation.
First, interest rates jumped after the Federal Reserve started raising interest rates; yields on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose 92 basis points from March 31, 2022 to July 31, 2022. Higher rates caused bond prices — which move in the opposite direction of yields — to decline, including on TIPS securities.
5 Year TIPS/Treasury Breakeven Rate is at 2.20%, compared to 2.21% the previous market day and 2.77% last year. This is higher than the long term average of 1.90%.
A 5-year TIPS has a real yield of about 1.58%.
How do you calculate return on tips?
Example: TIPS Calculation
Suppose the TIPS were trading at $925 on the secondary market. The real yield calculation would use the secondary market price (like any other bond) of $925, but use the inflation-adjusted coupon payment of $42. The real yield would thus be: 4.54% (42 ÷ 925).