Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities Index Fund Investor Shares (VTIPX)

Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities Index Fund Investor Shares is a U.S. mutual fund that tracks a market-value–weighted benchmark of Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities with less than five years to maturity. Its primary purpose is to provide exposure to short-duration TIPS, where principal is indexed to changes in the Consumer Price Index, helping preserve purchasing power by adjusting both principal and coupon payments with inflation metrics. The fund emphasizes minimal credit risk by investing exclusively in obligations of the U.S. Treasury and maintains limited interest-rate sensitivity due to its short effective duration. It is designed to deliver broad, low-cost access to the front end of the inflation-linked Treasury market, reflecting securities available to the public after excluding Federal Reserve holdings. By focusing on short maturities, it aims to reduce volatility relative to longer-duration inflation-protected strategies while retaining the core inflation-indexing feature of TIPS. The fund plays a role in fixed income allocations where investors seek inflation linkage, Treasury credit quality, and dampened duration risk within a diversified bond portfolio.