Largest Inflation-Hedge ETF Is At Risk of Losing Its Crown (1)

A once-dominant BlackRock Inc. bond ETF is at risk of losing its crown as the biggest inflation-hedging product of its kind, after schooling investors about the dangers of safety trades laden with interest-rate risk.

The iShares TIPS Bond ETF, benchmarked to a broad index of Treasury inflation-protected securities with an average maturity of about seven years, incurred losses in 2022 as Federal Reserve interest-rate increases pushed bond yields higher. Its income payments — despite being tied to the inflation the Fed was fighting — were fully offset by the resulting drop in the value of its holdings.

BlackRock subsequently decided ...