Question on Entering TIPS (Treasury Inflation Protected Securites)

JeffG35578

Question for those buying TIPS, do you enter each new TIP purchase as its own security or do you use a single Generic Security for all your Tips of a set duration? Which is better. I started out Using one entry for each duration of tips (US T Bill [17 wk], US T Bill [26 wk]) however Im not sure I want to stick with this method and might record each individual bond as its own security...

Bob_L

I don't manually enter bond purchases, but I can tell you the way quicken handles t-bill purchases from Vanguard. They are added to quicken as single securities based upon the cusip ID for the entire issue, which is populated in the symbol field. If you purchased 10000 of a given issue the quantity would be 10 for that purchase. If a week later you purchased another 10 it would be added to “shares” of that same security. When the bonds mature, Vanguard shows a sale at the original purchase price and then a second transaction for the difference between face value and the original purchase as interest income.

Hope this helps, though I can't help as to how how Tip inflation adjustment should be handled as I have never bought them.