Inflation Subtly Stole 20% of Your Savings Since 2020. These 3 ETFs Hit Back

By Michael Williams Published Jun 30, 7:07PM EDT

Quick Read

GLD has returned 156% since the pandemic began while DBC gained 91%, both demolishing inflation's ~20% hit to cash purchasing power.
VTIP's principal adjusts contractually with CPI, making it the only hedge directly tied to the same index quietly draining your savings.
DBC covers energy and food shocks but issues a K-1 tax form, and gold pays no dividend and can drop double digits in weeks.
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Inflation Subtly Stole 20% of Your Savings Since 2020. These 3 ETFs Hit Back — © RomanR / Shutterstock.com

You opened a savings statement recently and felt that quiet sting. The number looks fine, but the receipts disagree. Groceries, insurance, rent, repairs: each line item has crept higher while your cash earned a fraction of what prices actually did. The Consumer Price Index has marched from 308.417 in January 2024 to 335.123 in May 2026, and stretching back to 2020 the damage to a dollar sitting in checking is roughly a fifth of its purchasing power.

Three exchange-traded funds were built to push back: the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:GLD), the Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities ETF (NASDAQ:VTIP), and the Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund (NYSEARCA:DBC). Each one attacks the inflation problem from a different angle, and together they cover the bases that a savings account cannot.

GLD: The Classic Hedge, Sharpened

GLD holds physical gold bullion in vaulted storage and tracks the spot price of the metal. That is the entire pitch, and it has worked. Since January 2, 2020, GLD has returned 156.04% on an adjusted basis, lapping the cost of living several times over. Over the trailing year alone the fund is up 22.36%, and its five-year gain stands at 122.53%.

The expense ratio is 0.40%, meaning $996 of every $1,000 stays invested in gold every year. That is not the cheapest gold wrapper on the market, but GLD’s depth and liquidity make it the default for investors who want exposure today and an easy exit tomorrow. Worth noting: gold does not pay a dividend, and it can swoon when real yields rise. GLD has slipped 7% year to date and 11.64% over the past month after a torrid run. The point is the multi-year arc, not the weekly tick.

VTIP: The Bond That Refuses to Be Outrun

VTIP holds Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities with maturities under five years. The principal of each TIPS bond adjusts upward with CPI, and the coupon recalculates off that higher base. Translation: if inflation prints hot, your bond literally grows to keep pace. It is the most direct hedge in this lineup because it is contractually tied to the same index that just stole your purchasing power.

The trade-off is excitement. VTIP has returned 26.78% since January 2020 and 3.8% over the past year. You will not get rich here. You will, however, get a place to park dollars that does not silently lose to the supermarket. For a reader who keeps too much cash on the sidelines, VTIP is the swap that actually fights the headline number.

DBC: The Whole Inflation Basket

Where GLD is one commodity and VTIP is bonds, DBC is the broad commodity complex in a single ticker. It tracks an index covering crude oil, gasoline, heating oil, natural gas, aluminum, copper, zinc, gold, silver, corn, wheat, soybeans, and sugar. When inflation flares because energy spikes or food gets pricey, DBC tends to ride those same waves.

That is exactly what has happened. DBC has returned 90.98% since the start of 2020, with a 25.88% one-year gain and 18.78% year to date even after a 9.91% June pullback. Goldman Sachs and Franklin Templeton both flagged commodity exposure as a 2026 catalyst, with a softer dollar tending to push up the price of many commodities, including gold and other precious metals.

The Trade-Off

None of these three is a free lunch. Gold can drop double digits in weeks, as the last month proved. TIPS yields can fall if the Fed convinces markets inflation is whipped, and the fund’s return will look pedestrian in any year prices behave. Commodities are the most volatile of the bunch and pay no income while you wait. DBC also issues a K-1 tax form, which complicates April more than most investors expect.

The case for owning all three is that they hedge different inflation flavors. GLD covers monetary debasement and dollar weakness. VTIP covers the published CPI number itself. DBC covers the energy and food shocks that make headlines before they hit the index. Held in modest sleeves alongside an existing portfolio, the three funds give savers a way to counter the erosion that a cash balance alone cannot.

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About the Author Michael Williams →

I am a long time investor and student of business, and believe finding good companies that can become great investments is the best game on earth. After 20 years of writing and researching the public markets it is clear that individuals have never had more tools and information to take control of their financial lives. From ETFs and $0 commissions to cryptos and prediction markets there has never been a greater democratization of access to investing.

I write to help people understand the investments available to them so they can make the best choice for their portfolio, whether they're starting out or looking for income in retirement.