Morningstar creates TIPS fund category

Morningstar.com, an advisory service for individual investors, has created a separate category for mutual funds that invest primarily in TIPS, the Treasury's marketable-security version of Series I Savings Bonds.

In the Should I just do it myself section of the article, the author, Eric Jacobson, neglects to mention that you can also buy TIPS without a broker through TreasuryDirect.

However, unlike Savings Bonds, when you buy through TreasuryDirect, TIPS are offered for sale on just a handful of days each year, rather than every business day.

For a complete description of TIPS, see TreasuryDirect's page, TIPS: Rates and Terms.