Larry Berman CFA, CMT, CTABMO REAL RETURN BOND INDEX ETFZRR.TOCOMMENTDec 06, 2021

Designed to protect from the ravages of inflation. The real return rate itself is highly variable, now they're under 2%, and they were negative a couple of years ago. Long duration, low coupon, nominal yields, risky. A messy security. Worst performers in the bond market last 3 years, by far.

It's been a tricky year, but part of your bond portfolio that you really want in there. Longer term, these ones give you a coupon rate along with whatever the CPI is. Accounting is a bit funny, so owning them through an ETF and in a registered plan makes sense. Tax calculation tricky outside a registered plan.

Adds protection during inflationary shocks. Nice complement to your bond portfolio, just an allocated piece of it.

If you want inflation protection and bonds. They take the CPI and add a spread. It's about inflation expectations. So if they're robust, they're already reflected in the bond price, then you won't see a big pop in the ETF price. Conversely, if they're underpriced, this ETF can perform. Real return bonds have struggled. Own this in a registered account to avoid tax headaches. You should own real return as well as nominal bonds. But don't go all-in in real return bonds.