Summary
- At Friday’s close, the Treasury’s estimate of the real yield of a five-year TIPS stood at 0.25%, a bit higher than recent numbers.
- At that yield, the five-year inflation break-even rate would come in at 1.34%, an extremely low number.
- I expect reasonably strong demand for this new issue, but smaller-scale investors can find a better alternative with I Bonds, or possibly insured bank CDs.
The U.S. Treasury on Thursday will auction $17 billion in a new five-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Security – CUSIP 912828YL8. The real yield to maturity and resulting coupon rate will be set by the auction bidding.

"As of late March 2026, the Vanguard International High Dividend Yield ETF (VYMI) offers a dividend yield of approximately 3.72%…