My view on TIPS is 1) they are an excellent diversifier and 2) they are a hedge against unexpected inflation. I bought mine in the Spring of 2007 with these two factors in mind and they have served me well.To my mind, future inflation is "unexpected" and I don't believe it can be reliably predicted; certainly not by me!

An additional advantage, though this assumes they are held to maturity, is they protect against deflation as at maturity one is guaranteed the original principal, plus interest plus the inflation adjustment.

Ray