TIPS
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Minimum value of TIPS at maturity if purchased on secondary market
Advice on my portfolio for retirement 30+ years - 35yr old
Do you know of any long term TIPs (inflation protected bonds) funds?
Is the 10 year TIPS Treasury at 2.5% real yield a good play right now?
I have a fair chunk of change that I won't need for the next 5 years. Was thinking about CDs but just learned about TIPS. Any insight into TIPS?
I've got 300K I don't need access to so was going to put it in CD, but just learned about TIPS. Any input?
Difference in default risk between Nominal Treasuries and TIPS?
Are bonds an obvious investment now, if you believe that we will return to the 2010-1019 interest rate regime?
Looking for some feedback/personal experience for my strategy.
The Fed is leading the economy into recession, but is silent about it?
BofA's Hartnett on Flows (5/11/23) - The Flow Show -> Three and a Half Big Positions
The Flow Show -> "THREE AND A HALF BIG POSITIONS" (Bank of America's Hartnett | May11 '23)
Hartnett's "THE FLOW SHOW" -> Three & a Half Big Positions (BofA | 11-May-23)
THE FLOW SHOW (BOFA) -> THREE AND A HALF BIG POSITIONS (Hartnett's May 11, '23 Note)
Purchasing Power Risk - Understanding Inflation Risk
Purchasing Power Risk - Understanding Inflation Risk
Struggling to understand TIPS and VTIP (Vanguard Short-Term TIPS)
New York Times: "Low Rates Were Meant to Last. Without Them, Finance Is In for a Rough Ride."
THE FLOW SHOW - THE CRASHY VIBES OF MARCH... (BofA's Hartnett w/a *PRESCIENT* Mar 9th Note)
The Flow Show - The Crashy Vibes of March (BofA's Hartnett Writeup 3/9/23)
The Flow Show - BofA's Hartnett... "The Crashy Vibes of March" -> *Prescient 3/9/23 Writeup...*
The Flow Show - BofA's Hartnett... "The Crashy Vibes of March" -> *Prescient 3/9/23 Writeup...*
The Flow Show - BofA's Hartnett... "The Crashy Vibes of March" -> *Prescient 3/9/23 Writeup...*
TIPS are accepted as the best inflation hedge, but recent studies show a more effective hedge is to become obese — the calories in your fat stores become more valuable as the food CPI increases
Weekly Fund Flows for the week ending February 24th, 2023 -> "Where's the Money Going?"
Where's the money going? WEEKLY FUND FLOWS for week ending Feb 24...
Weekly Fund Flows for the week ending Feb 24, 2023... Where's the Money Going?
Best place to put $60k savings for 2-5 years? Goal is to buy a home or land when the time is right.
Pros and cons of having some allocation to a Gold ETF?
gold,bulk commodity,Real Estate Investment Trust Fund (REITs), Inflation-protected Bonds (TIPS)
(UK Investors) TIPS, 0-1 year treasury bonds or floating rate bonds?
3.4% vs 3.5% Unemployment. 517K vs 187K New jobs. 4.4% vs 4.3% YoY Wages.
Why is SPX still far above pre-covid peak, if rates are higher, and the economy had a stagnant 3 years?
1-4-23 SPY/ ES Futures and Tesla Daily Market Analysis (and FOMC minute review)
Short-Term Inflation Protected Securities
Short-Term Inflation Protected Securities ETF
VTIP seems like a no brainer holding right now. Am I missing something?
VTIP seems like no brainer holding right now. What am I missing?
How To Trick ChatGPT into offering Financial Advice - and what it told me when I did...
How is monthly "expected inflation" formed, how does it get calculated??
Seeking guidance on 401K and Roth IRA allocation at new employer with no automatic selections available
Why is GLINFL losing so much value in such a high inflation environment?
Confused with what rates you get back with Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS)
SOXL 7770 share YOLO into CPI next week. It's time to bend these bears over.
How do TIPS work? I am seeing that they currently have a relatively high interest rate, but don't understand how it functions.
If you were thinking of purchasing a home, WAIT! read this first.
TIPS 101 needed - why are they down when inflation is up?
Let's settle this once and for all: Federal reserve interest rates + the US national debt Part 3
Why are TIPS yields to January above the January yield for T-Bills?
Inflation-index-linked bonds - Ishares $ TIPS UCITS ETF
Inflation on your mind? Here are some TIPS* for you…
How does one determine the real (holdings) value represented by a TIPS ETF share?
Why does it seem TIPS is not going up with inflation?
The Government Technically Defrauds TIPS Investors
In which assets to Insurance companies invest the proceeds from sales of Annuities to generate the returns?
$SPY + $GOVT + $GLD Blended Portfolio [DD]
$SPY + $GOVT + $GLD Blended Portfolio [DD]
How are you currently hedging against inflation?
In this high inflation context, is it smart to invest in a TIPS etf ?
Buying TIPS VS Investing in ETFs that hold treasuries
Stagflation ETF Launches as Fed Attempts to Tame Sky-High Prices
Real Yields Wade Toward Positive Territory, Denting Stocks
Why have TIPS fallen despite the high-interest rate?
Investing in TIPS (treasury inflation protected securities). Good idea?
Dealing with regular inflation through options
Want to hedge against inflation? Holy savings bonds Batman! Look at that I-Bond eyecandy!
WANT TO INVEST IN INFLATION? HOLY SAVINGS BONDS BATMAN, LOOK AT THOSE I-BOND TENDIES!
Fuck WSB and Reddit - I'm fucking outtro
Will the Fed really drag down US stocks?
Share-structure on the OTC, second post on my passion project newsletter
Market’s Anticipation of Continuous Rate Hikes Is Wrong: Calling Out the Fed’s Bluff
Market’s Anticipation of Continuous Rate Hikes Is Wrong: Calling Out the Fed’s Bluff
Mentions
No, but we have a 3Y, 10Y, and 30Y auction next week. And a 20Y and 5Y TIPS the following.
TMF? TIPS? Which bonds? I'm regarded btw.
I am not a financial advisor by any means, and certainly not qualified to give advice. But I can offer some suggestions. Does your 401k have a brokerage window? If not, start campaigning for one. In my experience (two companies) HR will resist but senior management will be on board. The purpose of a brokerage window is not to actively trade, but rather to get a broader selection. As I approached retirement, I used mine to hold actual bonds, preferred shares, defined maturity bond ETFs and even a couple of Closed End Funds (CEF). I suggest picking up *The Bond Book* by Annette Thau. It is surprisingly readable. It is also a bit dated, but bonds do not change much so the only "not in there" that I see is the existence of defined maturity bond ETFs, which would be an excellent tool to use in 401k brokerage window to build out a bond ladder. Which leads too: Consider using a bond ladder. Bond funds are fine during the accumulation phase, but IMO actual bonds held to maturity provide a much more stable platform as one approaches and enters retirement. Consider TIPS. Buy the actual bonds, plan to hold to maturity. General advice is to hold these in a retirement account because of tax issues. However there are now defined maturity bond ETFs using TIPS, which simplifies the tax issues. Buy with limit orders (since they are buy & hold investments they are thinly traded), set dividend reinvestment ON, let run to liquidation. The problem with open ended TIPS funds is that TIPS valuations are very sensitive to interest rate changes, making them more volatile than you would expect from a bond fund. Thus the "buy the bond, hold to maturity" approach. Consider setting up a bond tent. This is an idea that flies against conventional wisdom, but given your age, market valuations and the political situation it might be a good idea. Or not -- YMMV. Two more reading suggestions. Wade Pfau, who is well qualified, has published a number of books on retirement planning. And then there is Michael McClung's opus, *Living Off Your Money". He goes very deep and I opted for a simpler strategy, but it is well worth the read even if you keep to the shallow end of the pool. Best of luck.
Hold a TIPS bond versus an ETF, and the principle will adjust to inflation (or deflation) accurately.
The inflation estimated this way is the long term future estimate of inflation, which is expected to revert to close to the Fed's 2% target. So the Invisible Hand expects that the Fed will almost meets its inflation target for the next 3 decades. If you think this is wrong and inflation will be well over 2%, then short bonds and buy TIPS.
> Even when the CPI was at 7%+ TIPS didn't rise to any meaningful degree compared to the reality. The difference between bonds and TIPS represents the 30 year average (geometric mean, probably) of inflation, and covid inflation was not expected to last for the duration of the bond. > Even looking at the current 20 TIPS (2.55%) vs the 30 TIPS (2.66%), it's saying there will be a difference of .11% inflation over a 10 year period? 30 year regular bonds also pay more than (curently non-existent) 20 year regular bonds. so the TIPS should follow, and 30 year TIPS should pay a little more than 20 year TIPS. If the difference between TIPS and bonds were *not* the expected inflation rate, then you could use your superior estimate of inflation to perform low-risk leveraged arbitrage and make a killing. So the market will erase any non-inflationary (and non-tax) difference between TIPS and bonds.
I would argue this is not accurate. Even when the CPI was at 7%+ TIPS didn't rise to any meaningful degree compared to the reality. Even looking at the current 20 TIPS (2.55%) vs the 30 TIPS (2.66%), it's saying there will be a difference of .11% inflation over a 10 year period? That doesn't make much sense to me... What I would suggest is that the rest of the world isn't dumb, they know if the US were to default, they wouldn't default in the traditional sense. They would inflate away the problem by printing money, this is why I believe they are demanding higher rates. The rest of the world is increasingly becoming aware that this is the most likely scenario.
> the reason why is because these are inflation expectations and a proxy for sentiment. Inflation expectation should the gap between 30 year TIPS and 30 year T-bonds, which is 4.98%-2.66%=2.32%. So inflation is expected to be a smidge above the Fed target of 2%. We can graph this value of 30 year bonds minus 30 year TIPS: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1JiyK Today's value is pretty typical. 2010-2015 expected 2.3% inflation; then 2014-2019 expected 1.8% to 2.2% inflation. Then during covid the inflation expectation was briefly 1.2%, then since 2021 it held steady at about 2.2%.
That was the 10Y TIPS though, wasn't it? So nervousness about interest ratss going up may be masked by nervousness about inflation.
There is risk in long treasuries and there is a reason why yields are high. You don't lose nominal dollars but if inflation is greater than the interest rates you lose purchasing power which is what you need in retirement. In normal times, it is relatively safe. With this Gov inflation can spiral out of control. In that scenario, conservative stocks will outperform bonds because in the long term they can raise prices to keep up with inflation. With bonds your losses are permanent. Just keep this in mind in your allocation and consider TIPS for the most conservative part of your portfolio.
Stock market participants can and do worry about crashes. There's been a lot of volatility this year. Does the bond market matter? Well **TIPs have been rising a lot over the last two years**, They are now at 2.68%. Just over two years ago, they were basically 0%. It's notable when something changes that dramatically. Well, 2.68% isn't all that high, some people say. It's been worse a couple times in the last 25 years. And when? * In Fall 2008, TIPs spiked above 3%. * In Winter/Spring 2000, TIPS spiked above 4%. So, yes, it's been worse in modern history. But then again those two times it was worse were just before two of the biggest crashes in history. This is why people pay attention to the bond market. You better believe the market is going to be paying close attention the to the next TIPs auction. If our fiscal and trade policy continue to be erratic, it's going to be ugly.
I disagree. Long term bonds are only a bad idea for short term investing. If you are a long term investor and don't need to pull more than a 2-3% per year, 20/30 year bonds are the best option. Especially TIPS. You get an extra 1% of yield for taking on duration risk. And if you can afford to hold to maturity, a 2.8% inflation adjusted yield or 5% nominal yield is not bad. However, there is also upside potential. If yields go back to where they were in 2020-2021, there is 80-100% upside in TIPS prices. And giving the circumstances that cause bond yields to fall, this could be an opportunity to buy the dip in stocks while your bond prices are up 80%.
Over the past 6 months I have enlarged my bond ladder with TIPS. I buy the actual bonds and will hold to maturity. The 2035 TIPS is paying 2.145% on top of its inflation adjustment. Which is not bad, especially if you look at the historical 10 year returns on the S&P 500 when its CAPE is over 30. Currently the S&P 500 CAPE is over 35. Of course I make no claims to knowing the future.
Good to know ALL trades are just TIPS from 🥭
TIPS paying 2.7% over inflation until the economy tanks. This would be a bet on a new round of QE if things get bad. Risk: real rates go up. It's something to consider.
How long until TIPS damage starts to blow up the market?
How long will it take until TIPS damage blows up the market?
Everyone saying bond auction when it was just a TIPS auction...do you people actually do your research in the wsb comments???
Lol, this is the example of someone who had never heard of the bond auctions and because one moved the markets thinks now it'll happen everytime. We don't even have one today outside of 10 year TIPS and T-Bills which don't matter.
Stupid bull TIPS bonds selling well is bearish
"TIPS, inflation-indexed securities, are designed to shield investors from inflation-risk. The principal is adjusted for inflation. Instead of getting back your initial investment of $1,000, for instance, you would get $1,000 plus an additional amount tied to the inflation rate. Coupon payments will also be based on the continuously inflation-adjusted principal amount, but since there is no inflation premium included in the nominal interest rate (coupon), interest payments (and yields attached to the TIPS) are lower than for regular Treasury securities. Economists and policymakers consider the differential between yields on 10-year TIPS and regular 10-year notes to be a proxy for investors' estimate of inflation expectations." [https://www.cmegroup.com/education/events/econoday/2025/03/feed633066.html](https://www.cmegroup.com/education/events/econoday/2025/03/feed633066.html)
Bid-to-cover ratio on the 10Y TIPS auction was basically the same as the last one, but less than the January auction: * January: [https://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2025/R\_20250123\_3.pdf](https://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2025/R_20250123_3.pdf) * March: [https://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2025/R\_20250320\_3.pdf](https://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2025/R_20250320_3.pdf) * Today: [https://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2025/R\_20250522\_3.pdf](https://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2025/R_20250522_3.pdf)
I get that but bond yields have been dropping since the TIPS auction so far. Not the expected response despite a bad showing
It’s tips, so it’s an inflationary protection bond, strong demand is usually bearish for equities, selling at high shows demand was robust. Strong demand for TIPS typically means investors are willing to accept lower yields (higher bond prices) because TIPS are seen as a safe haven, especially during inflationary periods since they protect against rising prices.
I don't know. It's lower than the result yesterday that freaked everyone out but maybe the TIPS market is different.
just remember guys the TIPS auction closes at 1pm EST but we don't get the results right away, takes like 15 - 30 minutes
Tips vs TIPS I think but who knows
10 year TIPS soon? Do you guys think we'll see similar movement like yesterday? Feel like any bad news may be priced in already at this point, & good news could make this jump... Jacked to the tits on 0DTE SPY puts btw
No income tax on TIPS now right?
TIPS getting yippy 
Results of the 10yr TIPS bond auction. Yesterday’s didn’t go well and caused a selloff
THE TIPS ARE MAKING ME SO HORNY 
Jacked to the absolute TIPS
MM’s when the TIPS bond goes shits up https://preview.redd.it/7zznqz4k5d2f1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6bf489ee301fca1430491b685dc7d622a19ab8d9
Boss scheduled a meeting for 1. It's like he doesn't even care about the TIPS
Is the Fed making 0 bids for the 10 year TIPS bullish?
So, coupon rate in TIPS auction is apparently already fixed. Is it possible for the auction to produce a negative real yield to maturity?
Source for timing of TIPS auction (1pm): [https://tipswatch.com/2025/05/18/thursdays-10-year-tips-reopening-deserves-some-attention/](https://tipswatch.com/2025/05/18/thursdays-10-year-tips-reopening-deserves-some-attention/)
Incorrect. 10Y TIPS auction begins @ 1pm EST. 11am was Kansas fed composite index. Hold on to your butts.
Idk but you can have my TIPS whenever you want 😉
Minimum bid for TIPS auction is 0.125%. Probably nobody's *that* shook about inflation yet but I am sort of morbidly curious to know what the smallest bid anyone will place today is.
TIPS at 1pm again. 
how is the 10yr TIPS auction going
Whoops, earlier I somehow missed that today they're not just auctioning off T-bills, but the 10Y TIPS. That makes today so much more interesting.
Oh shit. And it's 10Y TIPS which could be extra-interesting.
How long is the TIPS/ bond auction? And where do you see the results
the bond auction yesterday was bad because institutions were allocating more money for the TIPS auction today, which seems like a likely scenario
Is there actually any situation where the TIPS acution goes great instead of horrible like the bond auctions? Like what would be the logic behind it
Am I crazy or was the TIPS auction supposed to happen 5 minutes ago? They pushed it forward an hour?
TIPS being inserted into bull anus at 1PM.
I suspect the 10 year TIPS auction at 1:00 today will have robust demand because people believe that the US will pay its bills but is going to try and inflate away it's debt problem so they want the inflation protection. If I'm wrong and demand is weak I think we drill as it's a clear signal from the bond market that the US is not a good credit risk. I think most likely theta wins the day but if we start moving down at 1:00 it could look like yesterday.
then do 30 year TIPS, 2.8% after inflation yield, still more than doubling your purchasing power in 30 years
It's the 10 yr TIPS today. Which is basically bonds that adjust for inflation. If it's a good bond auction that is actually a bad thing.
10 TIPS is what will make this market pick a direction
Bulls will be scream-crying "DO NOT REDEEM" when TIPS auction comes in strong 
The 10-years are TIPS, so it’s not the same as a regular bond auction anyway. And it’s a reopening, the only real variable is price now. Expect that to go down, but it’s not gonna move the stock market.
If we see a strong auction for TIPS, it means that theres a longer term expectation of higher inflation. That combined with continuing strong jobs = no rate cut which means bulls who expect there to be multiple cuts this year get rug pulled.
TIPS auction in 2 hours and 20 min. We going dooooown
We get a whole bunch of economic data (PMI + Home sales) in the next 30 minutes. Bet the market is waiting for that to decide its decision for the day If not that - the 10 year TIPS auction at noob should be interesting
US10Y is V-ing, small rug at open and then cliff jump when TIPS auction goes "better" than expected? 
Why? 10Y TIPS Auction?
What is the TIPS report at 1pm? Why is it important?
There is very little chance that the TIPS auction goes the same way as the 20 year, right? They are very different products.
It isn't the 10Y getting auctioned today it's TIPS so if it goes well it means we are getting rugged big time 
For the people talking about the auction today. It is not regular bonds, it's a TIPS auction. Those are Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, bonds with a variable interest rate that increases with inflation. So if the auction goes WELL, then that's BAD, because it means people are expecting worse inflation.
10 yr TIPS Will be similar to the last one. Yields are up, but inflation expectations are down since April
I saw that too. Asked GPT about it to try ans understand a TIPS auction. Looks like a poor selling will still result in higher yields of the TIPS. My take away is it will cost the US more in interest which ultimately is one of the things the markets don’t like right now. Thoughts?
I buy TIPS directly, not with an ETF. If you keep them until maturity you know you get a real return above inflation. The market value will vary as interest rates fluctuate but you always beat inflation if they don't default.
thats rhe 10Yr TIPS right?
You need to look at the real interest rate for TIPS. If it's 2% above inflation, it's not bad if your goal is to preserve purchasing power with low risk. This could be your base income in retirement using a bond ladder. My concern is that dictators start messing with stats and may underreport the inflation rate.
10Y TIPS auction at 1pm EST. Treasury auctions will dictate market moves in afternoons as long as 30Y is over 5% and 10Y is threatening to shoot up there as well.
Well I gave back my profit from Monday’s dip ‘n rip. I was going to HODL, but treasury yield continuing to raise and there is the 10 year TIPS auction tomorrow. I think this sell off will continue. I should have seen this coming. There has been a lot of bearish news this past week. The market has just been looking for an excuse to dump.
TIPS auction tomorrow  Not only yields can fuck with it, but also inflation expectations
TIPS auction tomorrow, let’s see how bad it really is
Mortgage rates and TIPS tomorrow, new home sales Friday. I got SPY Puts for next Friday...
So the govt wanted to borrow $16 billion in 20 year notes today and had to give a yield of 5.1% to clear through the $ amount compared to 4.8% from the last 20 year auction. Tomorrow we get the 10 year TIPS auction at 1:00pm for $18 billion. I suspect that the demand will be high for these as inflating away the debt seems to be on the table these days but I'm probably wrong.
> they protect you from unexpected inflation. Yes. 30 year TIPS are 2.65%, but 30 year bonds are nearly 4.98%, implying 2.33% expected inflation, close to the Fed's target, which is looking increasingly difficult to attain. But what does 'expected' mean? There will be some distribution of yearly inflation values. It will never get much better than 2% because that approaches deflation. There might be black swan inflation events, like covid, or perhaps tariffs. In a retirement fund, you would get the same average yield with TIPS and bonds (see below), but would be protected against black swan events, which is important for a 30 year piece of paper. In a taxed fund, of course, you'd pay tax on the inflation. ---- As an experiment, I ran a 30 year toy model in which the Fed mostly hits its target (inflation is 2% with 40% odds, 2.2% with 20% odds, 2.5% with 20% odds, 3% with 10% odds, 4% with 5% odds, and 6% with 5% odds, and never more than 6%). Under this assumption, $1 in TIPS typically leave you with about 2.6 real dollars after 30 years, while T-bills leave you with 2.45 or so real dollars, so inflation is 'priced in' ... as long as there is no unexpected serious inflation.
The thing that annoys me about TIPS is that they don't protect you from inflation; they protect you from _unexpected_ inflation. Because they're sold at auction from the government and with a healthy secondary market, inflation expectations are already priced in. That makes it much harder for me to evaluate when they're going to do the thing I want them to do.
Yes - you should likely transfer into a brokerage. I'm never a fan of HYSA - they are much too inflexible and server limited purposes if you are willing to manage your cash to generate yield on cash. Your choice of funds depends on the state because of things like taxes. Your tax bracket also matters because on a post-tax basis, the yield on products like tax-exempt munis may sometimes make more sense. So at Fidelity - something like FICNX which is a CT muni fund may make more sense - The current TEY or tax equivalent yield of FICNX is 6.31% (40% marginal tax bracket) - [https://fundresearch.fidelity.com/mutual-funds/summary/316089101](https://fundresearch.fidelity.com/mutual-funds/summary/316089101) If you are in the 32% tax rate - the TEY is 5.35% for FICNX. And even at 24% tax bracket - the TEY is 4.7%. Your risk tolerance also matters as well as your liquidity needs. If you don't have liquidity requirements, I would also consider a target maturity bond fund - probably a mix of treasury and investment grade funds with maybe a small allocation of high-yield bond since the duration is short. 2027 treasuries are about 3.81% 2027 investment grade are about 4.6% 2027 high yield are about 7.2% You can also use TIPS funds if you are worried about inflation but want better credit quality. And if you want bank products like CD's - brokered CDs generally can be more competitive than using a non-marketable CDs at a specific bank. Basically - you can get as fancy and complicated as you want. My point is that brokerage account will always offer better and more flexible solutions than trying to chase yield in a HYSA.
Sounds like youre saying equites are the last bad option compared to everything else. They only pay out if liquidity remains high and the momentum stays positive. So whats the real play here if not taking a bearish position? Utilities? TIPS? Another foreign currency? (Other than the frank its high enough as it is)
The purpose of bonds is to ballast stocks which are best for pure nominal growth with low to moderate inflation. Nominal bonds ballast them when there is low growth with low inflation. 60/40 sucks for low growth high inflation. In this case you want a mix of inflationary ballasts like gold, commodity trend, and maybe some sector tilts like energy. A Dalio All Weather style portfolio is stocks, nominal bonds, TIPS, commodities, and gold to account for the inflation quadrant.
> Are there bond ETFs with set maturities? Interesting. Yes. Defined maturity bond ETFs are a thing. [Here are BlackRock's](https://www.ishares.com/us/strategies/bond-etfs/build-better-bond-ladders). There are other players, I just used this one because it is a well laid out web page. Buy with limit orders [since they are buy and hold they are thinly traded]. Set for dividend reinvestment. Let run to liquidation. They behave as a rung on a bond ladder that includes many bonds with similar maturity dates. I have had several of these mature/liquidate. They have behaved as expected with the exception of the High Yield/junk variety, which is an investment class that I no longer believe lends itself to index investing in any form. I am tempted to use the TIPS version, but so far have just bought the bonds themselves. That may change.
IMO, and I am just a stupid old retail investor, there is a big difference between holding bonds to maturity and holding an open-ended bond fund. Yes, I understand duration matching. The issue is how we mentally perceive the investments. And that matters. You setup a bond ladder and you pretty much understand how it is going to run, assuming that it is investment grade bonds. Yes, there are some risks, but they are easy to understand. So as time ticks along and the valuations of the bonds fluctuate you don't really worry about it -- it is just noise along the path to a known destination. If you hold bond funds then it is not just noise, it is a big deal because you don't know the end point. For this reason I use bond ladders. Treasuries (traditional and TIPS), defined maturity bond ETFs occasionally CDs. If I were a young Internet person I might use bond funds, but the reason would be diversification and use in rebalancing. In that case the fluctuations with interest rate changes would be the point of the exercise.
Other people have pointed out interest rate risk. You can also buy TIPS (inflation adjusted treasuries, currently paying 2.6% *plus inflation*), which could be useful for safely but modestly growing the real value of an IRA in a risk-free manner. Outside an retirement fund, the government taxes the full interest rate, including the part attributed to inflation, so the inflation protection is weaker. TIPS can be purchased on the same broker page as regular bonds.
30 year TIPS at 2.72% seems pretty nice. 2.3% inflation breakeven compared to 30 year bonds. Considering the historical average inflation rate is 3.8%, seems like a better deal.
DONT WORRY!! BE COOL! TAX CUTS COMING! NO TAX ON TIPS *the Wendy’s worker who can’t accept tips:* 
> Historically, when CAPE ratios are above 30, as they are now, the highest the stock market has EVER returned over the following 15 years was just below a 4% real return. I have been stewing on this while doing mindless work. To take this comment a step further, today you can buy a 15 year TIPS that guarantees a 2.3% real return. That is, inflation (whatever it turns out to be) plus 2.3%. Or build out a TIPS ladder to the same effect, aside from the 2036 - 2039 gap. This sub seems to think that the choice is VOO or a pile of dollar bills on the bedroom floor.
In December I changed my core asset allocation from 60/40 to 40/60, putting the increased fixed income into a TIPS ladder. I feel fine about it. When we have sane leadership in the White House and a functioning congress I might reconsider. Until then this is just a fragile tulip bulb market that it going to have a hard time getting through the next economic crisis because of the lack of ~~leadership~~ grownups at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.