This makes I bonds an ideal savings vehicle, for qualified investors to pay college expenses coming due within the next few years. The Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities ETF (NASDAQ:) has a year-to-date return of 1.86% as of April 24, 2019 and a low 0.1% expense ratio. Barbara A. Friedberg, MBA, MS is a veteran portfolio manager, expert investor, and former university finance instructor.